The wide-reaching tariffs imposed by President Trump on virtually every country can remain in place until at least the end of July, an appellate court said Tuesday evening.
The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals granted the Trump administration’s request to pause a lower court ruling that blocked the tariffs pending appeal. The appellate judges scheduled oral arguments in the case on July 31, meaning the tariffs are set to stay in effect until then unless there’s further court action in the case.
The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled last month that many of Mr. Trump’s signature tariffs are illegal, including the 10% tariffs on virtually every U.S. trading partner and a set of tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China. The appellate court quickly paused that ruling from taking effect until further notice — ahead of Tuesday’s longer-lasting pause.
Tuesday’s ruling was unsigned and did not include the court’s reasoning.
The appellate ruling extends a legal battle over the fate of the tariffs. The president put levies in place on imports from Canada, China and Mexico early in his term, citing the flow of drugs and unauthorized immigration. Then, on a day in early April he dubbed “Liberation Day,” Mr. Trump imposed across-the-board 10% tariffs on most countries — along with much higher “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of trading partners that he accused of unfair trade practices.
Mr. Trump has justified many of those tariffs using a 1977 law that lets the president regulate imports during emergency situations. But a group of businesses and state governments sued, arguing he doesn’t have the legal authority. The U.S. Court of International Trade sided with the plaintiffs, concluding that the 1977 law doesn’t allow the tariffs — and even if it did, it would be unconstitutional for a law passed by Congress to give the president blanket power to levy tariffs.
The trade war has rocked markets and drawn criticism from members of both parties, but Mr. Trump has stood by his tariffs, arguing they’re necessary to fix trade imbalances and restore U.S. manufacturing.
The 10% tariffs have stayed in place, though the “reciprocal” tariffs are largely on hold as the Trump administration seeks to strike trade deals with other countries, and many Canadian and Mexican goods are exempted from the levies on those countries. Chinese goods face 30% tariffs — down from 145% following an agreement between the U.S. and China.
