US trade court brands Trump's sweeping trade tariffs 'illegal' amid claims US President 'exceeded his authority'
29 May 2025, 08:02 | Updated: 29 May 2025, 09:36
A US federal court has ruled that Donald Trump overstepped his authority when he imposed sweeping trade tariffs on nearly every country globally.
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The Court of International Trade ruled on Wednesday that an emergency law invoked by the White House does not provide the president with unilateral authority to impose global trade tariffs.
According to the ruling, the US Constitution gives exclusive powers to Congress to regulate commerce with other countries.
As a result, the court ruled that Congress' power cannot be overruled by the US President's remit to safeguard the US economy.
The court's judgement on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration to issue the necessary orders to remove the tariffs "within 10 calendar days".
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Marking a major blow to a key part of Trump's economic policy, the administration is expected to appeal the ruling in federal court.
Following the ruling, Trump's deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, hit out at the court on social media, writing: "The judicial coup is out of control."
In a strongly worded statement on Wednesday, the White House added: "It is not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency."
Spokesperson Kush Desai continued that trade deficits - where imports exceed exports to a given country - have "decimated American communities and left our workers behind".
The panel of three judges included Jane Restani, appointed by Ronald Reagan, Gary Katzmann, a Barack Obama appointee and Timothy Reif, who was nominated by Trump in 2018.
The lawsuit, filed by the Liberty Justice Center on behalf of five small businesses that import goods from countries targeted by Trump's trade tariffs, was the first major legal challenge to Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs.
The companies, which include a New York wine and spirits importer and a Virginia-based manufacturer of educational kits and musical instruments, have said the tariffs will hurt their ability to do business.
There have been six other court challenges to Trump's tariffs, as well as challenges from 13 states and other groups of small businesses.
Trump is the only president who has claimed the authority to impose import taxes.
During a press conference on Wednesday evening, the US President Donald Trump defended his recent spending and legislation proposals.
It comes after billionaire Elon Musk said he was "disappointed to see the massive spending bill".
Trump avoided attacking Musk when asked about the billionaire's criticism of his 'big, beautiful bill.'
"We will be negotiating that bill, and I'm not happy about certain aspects of it, but I'm thrilled by other aspects of it," Trump told reporters, without addressing Musk's criticism.
"It's very big. The big, beautiful bill, but the beautiful is because of all the things we have. The biggest thing being I would say the level of tax cutting that we'll be doing."