White House says Trump's tariffs 'legally sound' amid mounting court defeats

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The White House defended President Donald Trump's sweeping global tariffs as "legally sound" Thursday after a three-judge panel unanimously ruled that he overstepped his powers when he declared emergencies to implement his global trade duties.

The legal defeat was quickly followed by another, hours later on Thursday.

Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the judges who issued the first ruling "brazenly abused their judicial power" when they struck down the tariffs. The judges, Leavitt said, "failed to acknowledge that the President of the United States has core foreign affairs powers and authority given to him by Congress to protect the United States economy and national security."

"The United States has run a trade deficit of goods every year since 1975. In 2024, our trade deficit in goods exceeded $1 trillion. Everybody agrees this is unacceptable," Leavitt told reporters.

"The president's rationale for imposing these powerful tariffs was legally sound and grounded in common sense. President Trump correctly believes that America cannot function safely long-term if we are unable to scale advanced domestic manufacturing capacity," she added.

A three-judge trade court panel ruled Wednesday that Trump did not have the proper authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to implement worldwide tariffs on April 2, when he imposed steep import duties on countries around the world.

The president cited the IEEPA when he initiated the duties, said his action was designed to target fentanyl trafficking into the US and to correct trade imbalances.

The Trump administration has appealed the decision, but another ruling Thursday from US District Judge Rudolph Contreras also blocked the tariffs. Contreras imposed a narrow injunction that only affected the two companies that brought the suit.