Washington. A federal appeals court ruled Friday that President Donald Trump had no legal right to impose sweeping tariffs, but for now left in place the president's plan to build a protectionist wall around the U.S. economy. After learning of the decision, Trump said all tariffs remain in place and that with the help of the Supreme Court, they will be used to benefit the country.

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that Trump was not legally authorized to declare national emergencies and impose taxes on imports from nearly every country in the world, largely upholding a May decision by a specialized federal trade court in New York.

However, the court overturned a portion of that decision that immediately invalidated the tariffs, giving the Trump administration time to appeal to the Supreme Court.

The decision complicates Trump's ambitions to completely overturn decades of U.S. trade policy on his own.

Trump has alternative laws to impose taxes on imports, but these would limit the speed and severity with which he could act. His tariffs, and the erratic manner in which he has implemented them, have shaken global markets, alienated U.S. trading partners and allies, and raised fears of higher prices for American consumers and slower economic growth.