Trump asks US supreme court to overturn trade tariffs ruling

President challenging federal appeals court decision that ‘liberation day’ levies on imports overstepped his powers

Donald Trump has asked the US supreme court to overturn a lower court decision that most of his sweeping trade tariffs were illegal.

The US president filed a petition late on Wednesday to ask for a review of last week’s federal appeals court ruling in Washington DC, which centred on his “liberation day” border taxes introduced on 2 April that imposed levies of between 10% and 50% on most US imports and sent shock waves through global trade and markets.

The court found in a 7-4 ruling last Friday that Trump overstepped his presidential powers when he invoked a 1977 law designed to address national emergencies to justify his “reciprocal” tariffs.