Trump’s Global Tariffs Are Ruled Illegal by US Trade Court

A US court blocked President Donald Trump’s global tariffs, deeming them illegal and plunging his chaotic trade policy into deeper confusion. The panel of judges at the US Court of International Trade sided with Democratic-led states and businesses that accused Trump of wrongfully invoking an emergency law to justify his levies. While it’s set to be appealed, the ruling — one of the biggest legal setbacks for the Trump administration — is likely to embolden those who want the tariffs rolled back.

It certainly seemed to encourage investors who, spooked by the century-high tariffs and plans to cut taxes, had recently taken to a “sell America” trade. The news boosted US stock-index futures and the dollar, as well as equity markets in Japan and South Korea. Timothy Moe, chief Asia Pacific equity strategist at Goldman Sachs, warned that the Trump administration could still find substitute measures to maintain tariffs. “This might be considered a body blow, but it’s not the final rendering,” he said in a Bloomberg TV interview.

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The US plans to start “aggressively” revoking visas for Chinese students, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said, highlighting the administration’s push for greater scrutiny of foreigners attending American universities. Students affected would include “those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields,” he said, adding that the US will enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications from mainland China and Hong Kong. China had the second most students in the US of any country in 2024, behind India.