The White House on Thursday blasted a federal court's decision to block many of President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs – a major setback to his trade strategy.

Since returning to the presidency in January, Trump has moved to reconfigure US trade ties with the world while using tariffs to force foreign governments to the negotiating table.

But the stop-start rollout of levies, impacting both allies and adversaries, has roiled markets and snarled supply chains.

The three-judge Court of International Trade ruled on Wednesday that Trump had overstepped his authority, and barred most of the tariffs announced since he took office.

The court gave the White House 10 days to complete the process of halting affected tariffs.

The White House called the ruling "blatantly wrong," filing an appeal and expressing confidence that the decision would be overturned.

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the judges "brazenly abused their judicial power to usurp the authority of President Trump."

In a court filing, the Justice Department called for an immediate administrative halt on the decision pending the appeal, saying the administration plans to seek emergency relief from the Supreme Court as soon as Friday.

Leavitt said the Supreme Court "must put an end" to the tariff challenge, though stressing that Trump has other legal means to impose levies. (AFP)