President Donald Trump’s efforts to impose tariffs on imports from foreign governments hit a massive stumbling block in the form of a federal appeals court decision on Friday.
The 7-4 ruling of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found that the president exceeded his authority when he cited a 1977 emergency powers act to implement many of his tariffs. If upheld, tens of billions of dollars in tariff revenue would have to be returned.
‘None of these actions explicitly include the power to impose tariffs, duties, or the like, or the power to tax.’
The ruling will not take effect until Oct. 14 to allow the administration to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“The statute bestows significant authority on the president to undertake a number of actions in response to a declared national emergency, but none of these actions explicitly include the power to impose tariffs, duties, or the like, or the power to tax,” reads the order from the court.
The ruling applies to those tariffs made under the authority of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act but not those passed by the president through other laws.
Trump has said that the billions of dollars of revenue from the tariffs would help balance the budget and erode the massive government debt. He has also used the tariff threat to force companies to bring back manufacturing to the U.S.
RELATED: Trump says he’s considering ‘a little rebate’ for Americans from tariff revenue
“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate,” Trump said in comments from April. “Always have, I’ve used them very well in the first administration, as you saw, but now we’re taking it to a whole new level, because it’s a worldwide situation, and it’s very exciting to see.”
Critics say that the Constitution specifically granted the power of tariffs to Congress and that tariffs usually lead to trade wars, lost jobs, and inflation.
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