A US federal appeals court has temporarily reinstated most of Donald Trump’s sweeping ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs, a day after a trade court deemed them illegal and struck them down.
It comes after the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled on Thursday (US time) to restore Trump’s tariffs while considering his administration’s appeal.
The short-term reprieve comes after the Court of International Trade ruled on Wednesday Trump had overstepped his authority and barred most of the tariffs announced since he took office.
It comes 24 hours after the International Trade Court gave the administration a 10 day deadline to end the blanket duties, alongside those imposed by Trump on Canada, Mexico, and China using emergency powers. However, it left 25% duties on imported autos, steel, and aluminium intact.
White House officials called the ruling “blatantly wrong,” filed an appeal, and expressed confidence that the decision would be overturned. Yesterday, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the judges “brazenly abused their judicial power to usurp the authority of President Trump”.
She said the Supreme Court “must put an end” to the tariff challenge while stressing that Mr Trump has other legal means to impose levies.
After the appellate ruling, Trump’s trade advisor, Peter Navarro, told reporters that the administration had received “plenty of phone calls from countries” who would continue to “negotiate in good faith” on trade.
- For more information about the ruling and its potential implications for a separate ruling on lumber imports, click here for Wood Central’s special feature yesterday.
