Trump Tariffs Blocked by Federal Trade Court; White House to Appeal

A US federal trade court based in Manhattan, New York, has blocked President Donald Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs on imports under an emergency powers law.

Trump announced across-the-board tariffs on April 2, setting off waves of global trade uncertainty.

Shortly after the court's decision, the White House responded that it was "not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency."

As expected, the government also filed a notice of appeal to the ruling from the New York-based US Court of International Trade.

The ruling from a three-judge panel at the New York-based Court of International Trade came after several lawsuits argued Trump exceeded his authority, left trade policy dependent on his whims and unleashed economic chaos.

US tariffs must typically be approved by Congress, but the president has argued he has the power to act by deeming the country's trade deficits a national emergency.

The lawsuit, filed by the Liberty Justice Center on behalf of five small businesses that import goods from countries targeted by the tariffs, represents the first major legal challenge to Trump's tariffs. There are, however, several other pending legal challenges to the tariffs.

This report first appeared on DW.

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