A federal appeals court ruled on Friday that most of President Trump’s global tariffs were illegal. The ruling explains the president exceeded his authority in using emergency powers to impose them.
The judges allowed the tariffs to stay in place as the case continues to be adjudicated in a lower court. Friday’s decision from the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reaffirms an earlier ruling by the Court of International Trade.
Trump responded to the decision on Truth Social, saying “ALL TARIFFS ARE STILL IN EFFECT!” He also called the court “Highly Partisan” and said “with the help of the United States Supreme Court, we will use [tariffs] to benefit our nation.”
The case is expected to eventually make it to the US Supreme Court, and the Trump administration can now decide whether to appeal.
It means the “reciprocal” tariffs Trump unveiled on dozens of US trade partners (which you can see in the graphic below) now face a fresh bout of legal limbo.
Meanwhile, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has authorized plans to retaliate against the 50% US tariffs imposed by President Trump, though the Brazilian leader emphasized he is looking to negotiate with the US administration.
Separately, the $800 duty-free loophole ended Friday, with small imported packages to the US facing tariffs of 10% to 50%, depending on their origin.
Meanwhile, Mexico is set to join the US with tariffs and will raise duties on Chinese goods under its 2026 budget plan, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. The proposal, due next month, targets cars, textiles, and plastics to shield local industries from cheap imports.
US pressure on Mexico stems from Trump’s claim that cheap Chinese goods slip into Mexico before heading north.
Also, Trump’s 50% tariffs on India have now kicked in, a move that experts say could upend a decades-long push by Washington to forge closer ties with New Delhi. Trump added an extra 25% tariff on Indian imports because of the country’s purchase of Russian oil.
The unfolding situations with both India and Mexico are the latest examples of how Trump’s tariffs are pushing countries to choose sides between the US and China.
Read more: What Trump’s tariffs mean for the economy and your wallet
Here are the latest updates as the policy reverberates around the world.
LIVE 1778 updates
Appeals court invalidates many of Trump’s tariffs. Next stop: The Supreme Court.
A federal appeals court struck down most of President Trump’s Congress-averting global import tariffs Friday in a dispute that’s predicted to head to the US Supreme Court.
The 7-4 ruling, issued by 11 judges for the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., allows the tariffs to remain in place while the administration decides on an appeal to the US Supreme Court.
The decision upholds a ruling handed down in May by the US Court of International Trade (CIT), saying that the president lacked legal authority to order, by way of executive orders, a series of global tariffs imposed on US trading partners. […]
The court emphasized that under the US Constitution, Congress is empowered to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises and to regulate commerce with foreign nations.
“Tariffs are a tax, and the framers of the Constitution expressly contemplated the exclusive grant of taxing power to the legislative branch,” the ruling said.
