JAKARTA – A US federal court has blocked President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on various countries. How did the White House respond?

“It is not the role of unelected judges to determine how to handle a national emergency,” said Kush Desai, Deputy Press Secretary at the White House, in a statement quoted by BBC News (29/5).

“President Trump has pledged to put America first. This administration remains committed to using every executive power to confront this crisis and restore American greatness,” he added.

The lawsuit was brought by Liberty Justice Center, a nonpartisan organisation, on behalf of five small businesses that import goods from countries affected by the tariffs.

The court’s decision marks the first major legal challenge to the tariffs Trump dubbed “Liberation Day” tariffs.

New York Attorney General Letitia James, one of 12 state officials involved in the lawsuit, welcomed the ruling.

“The law is clear—no president has the power to raise taxes at will,” she said.

These tariffs, she continued, are essentially massive tax hikes on working families and American businesses. If allowed to continue, they would fuel higher inflation and cause economic damage across businesses of all sizes.

“And many Americans would lose their jobs nationwide,” she added.

The court, based in Manhattan, ruled that the US Constitution grants Congress exclusive authority to regulate trade with foreign nations—an authority that cannot be replaced by presidential powers claimed in the name of economic protection.

Just minutes after the ruling was issued, the Trump administration filed an appeal. (DH/MT/ZH)