WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court ruled Friday that US President Donald Trump had no legal right to impose sweeping tariffs on almost every country on earth but left in place for now his effort to build a protectionist wall around the American economy.

The ruling from the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found Trump overstepped his authority under an emergency powers law, a major legal blow that largely upheld a May decision by a specialized federal trade court in New York.

“It seems unlikely that Congress intended to … grant the President unlimited authority to impose tariffs,” the judges wrote in a 7-4 ruling.

But they did not strike down the tariffs immediately, allowing his administration until mid-October to appeal to the Supreme Court.

The president vowed to do just that. “If allowed to stand, this Decision would literally destroy the United States of America,” Trump wrote on his social media platform.

White House spokesman Kush Desai said Trump had acted lawfully, and “we look forward to ultimate victory on this matter.”

An attorney for small businesses affected by the tariffs, meanwhile, said the ruling shows Trump doesn’t have unlimited power to impose tariffs on his own. “This decision protects American businesses and consumers from the uncertainty and harm caused by these unlawful tariffs,” said Jeffrey Schwab, director of litigation at the Liberty Justice Center.

Still, it remains unclear whether businesses will see any effects from the decision, said National Foreign Trade Council President Jake Colvin.

“If these tariffs are ultimately struck down, it ought to serve as a wake up call for Congress to reclaim its constitutional mandate to regulate duties and bring some long-term certainty for U.S. businesses and relief for consumers,” Colvin said.

Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon said he plans to force votes on “repealing these harmful, regressive taxes at every opportunity.”

The ruling complicates Trump’s ambitions to upend decades of American trade policy completely on his own. Trump has alternative laws for imposing import taxes, but they would limit the speed and severity with which he could act. His tariffs — and the erratic way he’s rolled them out — have shaken global markets, alienated US trading partners and allies and raised fears of higher prices and slower economic growth.

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© The Times of Israel