NEW YORK, May 7, 2026
A U.S. court ruled on Thursday that former President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs were unjustified under a 1970s-era trade law, marking the second legal setback for his trade policies this year.
Legal Basis Overturned
The court found that the blanket tariffs, imposed by Trump in February, lacked legal justification under the Trade Act of 1974, which he had cited as authority. The law permits tariffs for up to 150 days to address severe balance-of-payment deficits or prevent a potential devaluation of the U.S. dollar. However, the court determined that Trump’s application of the measure exceeded these narrow conditions.
This ruling follows an earlier decision by the same court, which struck down tariffs Trump had imposed in 2025 under a separate statute granting emergency economic powers. The repeated legal defeats highlight ongoing judicial scrutiny of Trump’s trade policies, which have faced challenges from both domestic and international critics.