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Washington. A US federal court has ruled against new global tariffs imposed by the country’s President Donald Trump. A three-judge bench of the New York-based International Trade Court on Thursday declared the 10 percent global duty illegal after hearing a petition by small traders. The court, by a majority of two to one, said that Trump had encroached on the duty power that Parliament has given the President under the law. The majority ruled that the charges were “invalid” and “unauthorized by law.”

The third judge of the bench said that the law gives more leeway to the President in the matter of charges. If the administration appeals Thursday’s ruling as expected, it would first turn to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington and then possibly to the Supreme Court. This case is to the temporary 10 percent global tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.

Earlier in February, the Supreme Court had rejected the more sweeping double-digit tariffs that the President had imposed on almost every country in the world last year. Following the Supreme Court decision, a temporary 10 percent global duty was imposed. The new duties were imposed under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 and were to expire on July 24. This decision is another legal setback for the Trump administration.

The administration has tried to protect the American economy by erecting a wall of import taxes. Last year, Trump used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA) to declare the country’s long-running trade deficit a national emergency and justify sweeping global tariffs.

The Supreme Court, in its judgment of February 28, had said that IEEPA does not allow these charges. The U.S. Constitution gives Parliament the power to impose taxes, including tariffs, although lawmakers can delegate the power to impose tariffs to the President.

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