New Delhi, Aug. 1 -- A panel of judges on the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Thursday voiced sharp skepticism over President Donald Trump's sweeping use of emergency powers to impose tariffs on countries. The hearing comes as Trump races against a self-imposed August 1 deadline to finalise reciprocal trade deals before dozens of tariffs are set to resume.

At the heart of the case is whether Trump overstepped his authority by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to justify a wide-ranging tariff regime aimed at tackling trade imbalances and combating fentanyl trafficking.

"The law itself never mentions the word 'tariffs'," one judge observed early in the hearing, calling the justification a pote...