Trump's Trials - Federal court blocks Trump's emergency tariffs, saying he overstepped authority

Episode Date: May 29, 2025

A federal trade court on Wednesday struck down many of the tariffs President Trump imposed this term, saying he overstepped his authority when he ordered taxes on imports from nearly every country.Support NPR and hear every episode of Trump's Terms sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

I'm Scott Detro and this is Trump's Terms from NPR. We're going to be doing all sorts of things nobody ever thought was even possible. President Trump has brought back strength to the White House. We can't just ignore the president's desires. This will be an entirely different country in a short period of time. Every episode we bring you one of NPR's latest stories about the 47th president and how he is trying to remake the federal government. Today's story starts right after this.

Hi, I'm Michelle Martin. A federal court has blocked the nearly worldwide tariffs that President Trump ordered last month. The U.S. Court of International Trade says Trump overstepped his authority when he ordered taxes on imports from nearly every other country. If the ruling stands, it would strike down all of the tariffs Trump imposed on April 2nd, along with separate levies on goods from Canada, Mexico, and China, some of which have been temporarily suspended. NPR's Scott Horstley is with us now

to tell us more about this. Good morning, Scott. Good morning, Michelle. Scott, this sounds big. What's at stake in this case? The stakes here are enormous. The President has imposed the highest tariffs this country has seen since the Great Depression enormous. The President has imposed the highest tariffs this country has seen since the Great Depression. And while he has backed off on some of those import taxes, the White House maintains he could reimpose them anytime with just a social media post. So, a dozen states and five businesses challenged the President's authority to unilaterally levy those taxes. And last night, a specialized trade court

handed those challengers a decisive victory. The unanimous three-judge panel ruled that under the Constitution, it's Congress that has exclusive power to regulate trade and impose tariffs. And the court said the 1977 emergency law that Trump has been relying on does not give the President unfettered power to impose taxes on imports not give the President unfettered power to impose taxes

on imports from around the world. They rejected Trump's claims that fentanyl trafficking or persistent trade deficits justify taxing nearly everything the U.S. buys from other countries. And in fact, the judges skipped right over issuing a preliminary injunction and gave the plaintiffs a summary judgment. How are financial markets reacting? Investors have never liked these tariffs. Every time the president raises import taxes, the stock market tumbles. Every time he backs down, the stock market soars. So global investors welcome the idea that maybe the courts are going to take away one of Trump's tariff clubs. Asian stocks rose sharply overnight.

Here in the US, early reaction has been more muted, which may signal market uncertainty about how this court battle ultimately plays out. Keep in mind, it's mostly American businesses and consumers that bear the cost of these import taxes, and it's U.S. farmers and factories that risk losing markets overseas because of retaliation in the trade war. Oregon is one of the states that brought this case, and Oregon's Attorney General Dan Rayfield says striking down these tariffs is a win for working families. We as consumers, we as families, people that are working day in day out to try and pay their bills don't have the flexibility in their budget to afford it

and economists were showing this is going to be a $3,800 increase to average household budgets every year. That is a tax on all of us, right? But it's hidden and disguised as a tariff. Pete Rayfield also says this ruling shows that laws still matter and the trade decisions cannot be made on a president's whim. Lila Well, the administration wasted no time saying it would appeal this decision. That will go to the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit here in Washington. The White House also issued a statement saying, quote, it's not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency.

I'll note the three judges who ruled against the president here were nominated to the court by Presidents Reagan, Obama, and Trump himself. Okay. So does this ruling strike down all of Trump's tariffs? No. The industry-specific taxes on steel and aluminum and cars and car parts remain in place. Those were authorized under a different statute. And Trump has threatened to use that statute to add additional tariffs on imported computer chips and pharmaceuticals and copper.

But as for the sweeping tariffs on nearly everything we import from coffee and bananas to French wine and Chinese toys, for the moment at least those taxes do not pass legal muster. That is NPR's Scott Horsey. Scott, thank you. You're welcome. Before we wrap up a reminder, you can find more coverage of the Trump administration on the NPR Politics Podcast, you can find more coverage of the Trump administration on the NPR Politics Podcast, where you can hear NPR's political reporters break down the day's biggest political news with new episodes every weekday afternoon. And thanks, as always, to our NPR Plus supporters who hear every episode of the show without

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