WASHINGTON – A federal trade court on Wednesday stopped President Donald Trump from enforcing broad tariffs on imports using an emergency-powers law.

The decision was made by a three-judge panel following several lawsuits that claimed Trump overstepped his authority. These lawsuits argued that his actions made U.S. trade policy unpredictable and caused economic turmoil.

At least seven lawsuits are challenging the levies, the centerpiece of Trump’s trade policy.

Typically, Congress must approve tariffs, but Trump argued that he could act independently because the country’s trade deficits are a national emergency. He imposed tariffs on numerous countries worldwide, causing market instability.

The plaintiffs argue that the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEPPA) does not authorize the use of tariffs.

Even if it did, they say, the trade deficit does not meet the law’s requirement that an emergency be triggered only by an “unusual and extraordinary threat.” The U.S. has run a trade deficit with the rest of the world for 49 consecutive years.

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