Trump's reciprocal tariffs blocked by US federal court, citing that they exceed his authority

A federal court on Wednesday invalidated US President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariff scheme, stating that the move exceeds POTUS' authority.

A three-judge bench of the US Court of International Trade pronounced that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a law which Trump used to invoke tariffs, does not give him power to impose sweeping duties, CNBC reported.

In their ruling, the bench wrote, "The Worldwide and Retaliatory Tariff Orders exceed any authority granted to the President by IEEPA to regulate importation by means of tariffs. The Trafficking Tariffs fail because they do not deal with the threats set forth in those orders."

The action came after several lawsuits claimed that Trump exceeded his authority in imposing tariffs.

The executive orders in which Trump declared duties on nations “are declared to be invalid as contrary to law”, the court ruled.

On April 2, the US President announced reciprocal tariffs on imports. A few days later a 90-day pause was announced, but a 10% baseline tariff was kept.

Bringing in tariffs usually needs a congressional nod, but Trump bypassed Congress by declaring a purported national economic emergency.

Kush Desai, a White House spokesperson, in a statement, blamed foreign countries' non-reciprocal treatment of the US for America's persistent trade deficit.

"These deficits have created a national emergency that has decimated American communities, left our workers behind, and weakened our defence industrial base – facts that the court did not dispute. It is not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency," he said.

Following the development, Dow Jones Futures climbed 1.37% to 42,673.56.

Asian markets are also trading higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 is up 1.67%, while Taiwan's Weighted Index gained 0.7%.

South Korea's KOSPI and Hong Kong's Hang Seng also advanced 1.45% and 0.4%, respectively.