A U.S. federal appeals court on Thursday ruled that President Donald Trump can temporarily maintain his tariffs under emergency powers. The decision follows the administration’s legal challenge against a prior ruling that had blocked the majority of his key economic policies. The court issued a temporary stay on the trade court ruling that had prevented Trump from enforcing ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs under emergency powers.
Trump had “exceeded his authority by enacting blanket tariffs” on nations that have a trade deficit with the United States, the International Trade Court ruled on Wednesday.
The verdict stemmed from two distinct legal challenges. The nonpartisan Liberty Justice Center filed one lawsuit on behalf of small businesses importing goods from countries affected by the tariffs. Meanwhile, a coalition of U.S. state governments launched a separate legal challenge opposing the import taxes.
A panel of three judges at the trade court determined that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)—a 1977 law invoked by Trump to justify the tariffs—did not grant him authority to impose such broad import taxes. Additionally, the court blocked a separate set of tariffs implemented by the Trump administration on China, Mexico, and Canada, which had been introduced in response to what the government claimed to be an excessive flow of drugs and illegal immigrants into the United States.
Meanwhile, the federal appeals court ruling recognized that the president has the authority to impose tariffs of up to 15% for a maximum of 150 days to address trade balance concerns, and the White House justified the measures as an emergency response.
On April 2, Trump introduced a sweeping global tariff policy, imposing import taxes on the majority of U.S. trading partners. A 10% standard tariff was applied to most countries, while higher reciprocal tariffs were levied against numerous nations and trade blocs, including the EU, UK, Canada, Mexico, and China.
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