Donald Trump may be president of the United States, but he is not an all-powerful ruler. That’s the message a panel of US federal judges has delivered by ruling that Trump was not authorised to impose his sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs on dozens of countries.

The verdict by the US Court of International Trade is a win for the rule of law and, by extension, American democracy. Yes, Trump is pushing the boundaries of the presidency in often alarming ways, but there are still bollards blocking him from crashing through the constitutional order.

A US court has found that President Donald Trump was not authorised to impose his “Liberation Day” policies. Credit: AP

In their ruling, the judges applied common sense, demolishing Trump’s claim that vague national security concerns justify presidential tariffs on virtually every country in the world, including allies such as Australia. The judges stressed they were not opposed to tariffs on policy grounds but because Trump had improperly invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 to impose........

© The Sydney Morning Herald