US federal court blocks Trump from imposing sweeping tariffs. What does this mean?

A US federal court has blocked Donald Trump’s tariffs on global imports, ruling he exceeded presidential powers under emergency trade laws

President Donald Trump (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)

A federal court in New York handed US president Donald Trump a big setback on Wednesday, blocking his audacious plan to impose massive taxes on imports from almost every country in the world.

A three-judge panel of the US Court of International Trade ruled that Mr Trump overstepped his authority when he invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to declare a national emergency and justify the sweeping tariffs.