Federal court rules against new global tariffs Trump imposed after loss at Supreme Court

Subscribed with another email? Logout and Login with that one. Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription The View From India Looking at World Affairs from the Indian perspective. First Day First Show News and reviews from the world of cinema and streaming. Today's Cache Your download of the top 5 technology stories of the day. Science For All The weekly newsletter from science writers takes the jargon out of science and puts the fun in! Data Point Decoding the headlines with facts, figures, and numbers THEdge At the cutting edge of education and careers Health Matters Ramya Kannan writes to you on getting to good health, and staying there Gender Agenda Stories from beyond the binary. The Hindu On Books Books of the week, reviews, excerpts, new titles and features. Published - May 08, 2026 08:17 am IST - Washington U.S. trade court ruled 2-1 that Mr. Trump overstepped the tariff power that Congress had allowed the President under the law. The tariffs are “invalid” and “unauthorised by law”, the majority wrote. | Photo Credit: AP A federal court has ruled against the new global tariffs that U.S. President Donald Trump imposed after a stinging loss at the Supreme Court. A split three-judge panel of the Court of International Trade in New York on Thursday (May 7, 2026) found the 10% global tariffs were illegal after small businesses sued. The court ruled 2-1 that Mr. Trump overstepped the tariff power that Congress had allowed the President under the law. The tariffs are "invalid" and "unauthorised by law", the majority wrote. Tariffs in trouble: On the U.S. Supreme Court and Donald Trump The third judge on the panel found the law allows the President more leeway on tariffs. If the administration appeals Thursday's (May 7, 2026) decision, as expected, it would first turn to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, based in Washington, and then, potentially, the Supreme Court. At issue are temporary 10% worldwide tariffs the Trump administration imposed after the Supreme Court in February struck down even broader double-digit tariffs the President had imposed last year on almost every country on Earth. The new tariffs, invoked under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, were set to expire July 24. The court's decision directly applied only to three of the plaintiffs — the state of Washington and two businesses, spice company Burlap & Barrel and toy company Basic Fun! "It's not clear" whether other businesses would have to continue to pay the tariffs, said Jeffrey Schwab, director of litigation at the libertarian Liberty Justice Center, which represented the two companies. "We fought back today and we won, and we're extremely excited," Jay Foreman, CEO of Basic Fun!, told reporters Thursday (May 7, 2026). The ruling marked another legal setback for the Trump administration, which has attempted to shield the U.S. economy behind a wall of import taxes. Last year, Mr. Trump invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to declare the nation's longstanding trade deficit a national emergency, justifying sweeping global tariffs. The Supreme Court ruled February 28 that IEEPA did not authorise the tariffs. The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to establish taxes, including tariffs, though lawmakers can delegate tariff power to the President. Mr. Trump is widely expected to try to replace the tariffs that have been struck down. The administration is conducting two investigations that could end in more tariffs. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is looking into whether 16 U.S. trading partners — including China, the European Union and Japan — are overproducing goods, driving down prices and putting U.S. manufacturers at a disadvantage. It is also investigating whether 60 economies — from Nigeria to Norway and accounting for 99% of U.S. imports — do enough to prohibit the trade in products created by forced labour. Donald Trump / international relations / trade agreements Copyright© 2026, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Federal court rules against new global tariffs Trump imposed after loss at Supreme Court

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Federal court rules against new global tariffs Trump imposed after loss at Supreme Court

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