Updated: May. 29, 2025, 5:23 The federal appeals court approved a request for a temporary suspension of the trade court ruling that blocked President Trump’s tariffs. Now, the Trump administration is expected to seek “emergency relief” with the Supreme Court. You can read the original report about this development story below.
In a surprising ruling on Wednesday, May 28, the U.S. International Trade Court prevented President Donald Trump from imposing most of the tariffs, which brought more uncertainty to the global economic order.
President Trump’s tariffs have subverted international trade, and the launch of his “Liberation Day” tariffs has led to price increases, dramatic political struggles, and high-risk negotiations with trading partners and enemies.
Now, a panel of three judges in the Federal Trade Court ruled that the president is beyond the power to impose tariffs under emergency powers. The U.S. Constitution explicitly gives Congress the power to mandate tariffs, but the Trump administration has authorized that power, claiming to create jobs, fentanyl trafficking and loss of trade deficits constitute a national emergency.
The court examined whether the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEPA) granted the president “the power to impose unlimited tariffs on goods from almost every country in the world.” In the ruling, the judge put aside many of Trump’s tariffs, his iconic economic policies. The New York Times The report said that so far, no president has tried to impose tariffs on the IEPA.
The ruling noted that the president “declared several national emergencies and imposed various tariffs and issued “suspensions and amendments.” In a usual ruling, the judge found that it was unconstitutional to grant the president unlimited power to impose tariffs and that Congress may not permanently delegate those powers to the executive branch. As a result, they ruled that “Ieepa does not authorize the tariff orders globally, retaliation or trafficking”.
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The case was filed by dozens of states that have paid their import duties since the tariffs came into effect.
According to the Associated Press, the three judges’ panel includes judges appointed by President Trump himself, as well as judges appointed by Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama.
So, what happens next?
Since taking office 129 days ago, President Trump has been repeatedly refused to exercise new presidential powers by federal judges. The latest setbacks have dealt a fatal blow to the tariffs on Liberation Day. The White House has 10 days to comply with the ruling The New York Times.
However, this does not mean that Trump’s tariffs have not yet died. Future tariffs, such as the recently threatened iPhone smartphone tariffs, could be effective by Congress. The White House will also certainly challenge the Supreme Court, which has reversed several federal court rulings that blocked the president’s executive orders and other lawsuits.
President Trump has appointed three conservative judges who make up the Supreme Court majority, but these judges are sometimes frustrated by violating his will.
Republicans in Congress are also very loyal to the president. They can put Trump’s tariffs under their authority and actually become the rubber stamp of the Trump administration.
“It is not the elected judge who decides how to properly resolve the national emergency,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement from Axios. “President Trump promises to put the United States first, and the administration is committed to using every leverage of the executive to resolve this crisis and restore American greatness.”
