US Court Rules Tariffs to Stay in Place During Appeals

A federal appeals court on Tuesday allowed President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs to remain in place while reviewing a lower court’s decision to halt them on the grounds that the president exceeded his authority in imposing them.

The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., means Trump can continue to apply the “Independence Day” tariffs on imports from most U.S. trading partners, as well as a separate set of tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico.

The court has not yet ruled on whether the tariffs are permissible under the Emergency Economic Powers Act, which Trump cited to justify them, but it allowed the tariffs to remain in place during the appeals.

The court said the lawsuit raised issues of “exceptional importance” that warranted the rare step of having the 11-member court hear the appeal, rather than having it first go to a three-judge panel. The court set arguments for July 31. The tariffs, which Trump used as leverage to negotiate with US trading partners, have shocked markets and businesses.

The ruling has no impact on other tariffs imposed under traditional legal authorities, such as tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

On May 28, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that the U.S. Constitution granted Congress, not the president, the power to impose taxes and tariffs, and that the president exceeded his authority by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a law designed to address “unusual and extraordinary” threats during national emergencies.

The Trump administration quickly appealed the ruling, and the Federal Circuit Court in Washington stayed the lower court’s decision the next day until it could decide on a longer stay.

“The Trump administration is using the powers granted to the executive branch by the Constitution and Congress to address our nation’s national emergencies of persistent trade deficits in goods and drug trafficking,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement. “The injunction issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals is a welcome development, and we look forward to finally achieving victory.” Trump said that the tariffs imposed in February on Canada, China, and Mexico were aimed at combating the illegal trafficking of fentanyl across the US border, a claim denied by the three countries. He also said that the comprehensive tariffs imposed on all US trading partners in April were a response to the US trade deficit.