Fact check: What are the Trump tariffs that are not illegal

1. Summary of the results

Based on the analyses provided, most of Trump's tariffs have been ruled illegal by federal courts, but there are specific categories that remain legal and in effect. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit determined that Trump exceeded his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) when imposing sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on nearly every country the US trades with ^{[1] [2]}.

However, certain tariffs remain legal and unaffected by the court ruling:

• Steel, aluminum, and copper tariffs imposed under different presidential authority remain intact ^{[1] [2]}
• Tariffs authorized under authorities other than IEEPA are not impacted by the decision ^[2]

All tariffs, including those ruled illegal, remain in place temporarily while the legal process continues. The Court of Appeals issued a stay allowing tariffs to remain in effect pending appeal ^[3], with some sources indicating they will stay until mid-October to allow the Trump administration time to appeal to the Supreme Court ^[4].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

The original question lacks several crucial pieces of context:

• The legal distinction between different types of tariffs - The analyses reveal that not all Trump tariffs were imposed under the same legal authority, which is why some remain legal while others don't ^{[1] [2]}
• The ongoing legal process - The Court of International Trade initially ruled against the tariffs, but the Court of Appeals issued stays, creating a complex legal situation where illegal tariffs remain temporarily enforceable ^[3]
• The scope of affected tariffs - The illegal tariffs specifically target "dozens of countries" and include goods from Canada, Mexico, and China, representing a massive portion of US trade relationships ^[5]
• Economic and political implications - The analyses don't explore who benefits from maintaining these tariffs or the broader trade war context, though one source mentions Trump's impact on the World Trade Organization ^[6]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original question itself doesn't contain misinformation, but it frames the issue in a way that could be misleading:

• It assumes there are Trump tariffs that are definitively "not illegal" when the legal situation is more nuanced - even the legal tariffs (steel, aluminum, copper) could potentially face future legal challenges under different grounds
• The question doesn't acknowledge the temporary nature of the current situation, where even tariffs ruled illegal remain in effect due to legal stays and pending appeals ^{[3] [4]}
• It oversimplifies a complex legal framework where tariffs' legality depends on which specific presidential authority was used to impose them, not just whether they were imposed by Trump ^{[1] [2]}

The framing could lead readers to believe there's a clear-cut list of "legal" vs "illegal" Trump tariffs, when the reality involves ongoing litigation and temporary enforcement of tariffs that courts have already deemed to exceed presidential authority.