Key Highlights
- Federal appeals court temporarily reinstates Trump's tariffs, pausing lower court's ruling pending appeal.
- Legal uncertainty continues as courts debate presidential authority under emergency economic powers for tariffs.
A federal appeals court temporarily reinstated President Donald Trump's most sweeping tariffs, a day after a US trade court ruled that Trump had overstepped his authority in imposing the duties and ordered their immediate suspension.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington said it would pause the lower court's decision to hear the government's appeal, and ordered the plaintiffs in the cases to respond by June 5 and the administration by June 9.
The US Court of International Trade's surprise ruling on Wednesday threatened to kill or delay the imposition of Trump's so-called Liberation Day tariffs on imports from most US trading partners, as well as additional tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico, and China.
The latter was related to his claim that the three countries were facilitating the flow of fentanyl into the United States.
The trade court's three-judge panel ruled that the Constitution gave Congress, not the president, the authority to levy taxes and tariffs, and that the president went beyond his authority by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a law designed to address threats during national emergencies.
Also Read: RBI Governor Warns Trump Tariffs Could Adversely Affect Net Exports
Senior Trump administration officials said they were unconcerned about the trade court's decision, saying they expected to win on appeal or use other presidential powers to ensure the tariffs went into effect.
Trump has used the threat of charging US importers high tariffs on goods from almost every other country in the world as leverage in international trade talks, a strategy that the trade court's decision would overturn. According to Trump's administration, the trade court ruling had no bearing on any upcoming negotiations with major trading partners.
In a statement shared on social media, Trump expressed his hope that the US Supreme Court would "reverse this horrible, country-threatening decision" of the trade court, while lambasting the judicial branch of government as anti-American.
"The horrific decision stated that I would have to obtain congressional approval for these tariffs," Trump wrote on Thursday evening. "If allowed to stand, this would completely destroy the Presidential Power. The Presidency would never be the same."
