Multiple courts this week issued rulings on President Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs, with the U.S. International Trade Court early in the week blocking the tariffs followed by a DC appeals court overturning the decision and allowing them to resume.
The U.S. Court of International Trade on Wednesday froze most of the tariffs initially imposed on April 2nd across a wide range of countries. Specifically, the ruling applied to the blanket 10 percent tariff on virtually every U.S. trading partner as well as a separate set of tariffs imposed on China, Mexico, and Canada.
However, the decision did not last long, as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Thursday overturned the decision, granted the Trump administration a temporary stay, and gave the plaintiffs – five U.S.-based companies and 12 states – the opportunity to respond by June 5.
The Trump administration said that if the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals did not provide a stay, the Justice Department would have asked the Supreme Court to intervene as early as today.
Since the stay has been issued, the global 10 percent tariffs temporarily remain in effect.
At issue is the underlying law the Trump administration has cited as its authority to impose the tariffs. Known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977, the law gives the president the power to regulate imports during certain emergency situations. The Trump administration has cited that trade deficits constitute such an emergency situation.
Other lawsuits remain ongoing regarding the president’s authority to impose tariffs. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras ruled that IEEPA “does not authorize the president to impose the tariffs.”
The Trump administration can appeal this ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
Separately, the Trump administration has imposed what are known as Section 232 tariffs of 25 percent on automotive, steel, and aluminum imports ,as well as Section 301 tariffs on China that were imposed in the president’s first term. Those all remain in effect.
