Trump’s tariffs dealt catastrophic blow as judge rules worldwide trade levies ‘illegal’… sending markets soaring

President Donald Trump’s global tariffs were declared illegal and blocked by a federal court on Wednesday in a massive blow to his administration.

The ruling from a three-judge panel at the New York-based Court of International Trade came after several lawsuits from Democratic-led states and a group of small businesses argued Trump had wrongfully invoked an emergency law to justify the levies.

The court agreed. 

‘The Worldwide and Retaliatory Tariff Orders exceed any authority granted to the President by IEEPA to regulate importation by means of tariffs,’ the court wrote, referring to the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

The Trump administration is expected to appeal and the legal battle is likely to end up in the Supreme Court. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Trump left U.S. trade policy dependent on his whims and unleashed economic chaos when he announced a series of tariffs on countries around the world. 

At least seven lawsuits challenged the tariffs, the centerpiece of Trump’s trade policy.

The president, in a massive Rose Garden ceremony in April, imposed tariffs on most of the countries in the world in an effort to reverse America´s massive and longstanding trade deficits. 

He earlier plastered levies on imports from Canada, China and Mexico to combat the illegal flow of immigrants and the synthetic opioids across the U.S. border.

Some countries hit back with their own taxes on U.S. goods while others began negotiations with the administration. 

Markets have risen and fallen in the days since as the financial world struggled to deal with the fallout. 

Tariffs must typically be approved by Congress, but Trump argues he has the power to act because the country´s trade deficits amount to a national emergency. 

The ruling was a massive setback from the president who is facing numerous lawsuits challenging his use of his executive power.