Washington: A US federal court on Friday held that several of Trump’s tariff announcements were illegal, and that the US President did not possess the “wide-ranging authority to impose tariffs” under his several executive orders.

The 7-4 decision by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld a decision taken in May by a Manhattan Trade Court. However, the implementation of this order has been delayed till October, allowing the Trump administration to appeal against the ruling in the Supreme Court.

Both courts objected to the administration’s use of its emergency powers under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which the President has invoked variously over the last six months to address the American trade deficit. Thus far, Trump has invoked the emergency authority to bypass Congress and impose tariffs immediately, without seeking public comments or information, and using the country’s trade deficit as a justification.

Similarly, the executive order announcing the sweeping “Liberation Day” tariff announcements on April 2 said that the US is facing a “national emergency” due to the “foreign trade and economic practices” and the “absence of reciprocity” in its trade relationships. Trump announced two tariff categories that day – a 10% baseline aimed at all countries with which the US maintained the largest trade deficits.