On Thursday, a federal appellate court issued a temporary halt to a decision made by a lower trade court on the preceding day. This earlier ruling had determined that President Donald Trump overstepped his legal bounds when he implemented extensive tariffs the prior month.
In what he called
Liberation Day
On April 2, Trump declared a blanket 10 percent tariff along with increased reciprocal duties on nations his administration pinpointed as severely restricting access to their markets for American goods.
The
Associated Press
It was reported that at least seven plaintiffs took legal action against the levies.
They contended that the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which Trump used as justification, did not grant the president the authority to levy tariffs.
Further, even if it did, the plaintiffs contended that the record trade deficit of
$1.2 trillion in 2024
was not considered urgent, noting that the U.S. has experienced a trade deficit over the past 49 years.
On Wednesday, a panel consisting of three judges from the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York City,
ruled against
Trump stated, “The court interprets IEEPA as not granting this extensive power and consequently invalidates the contested tariffs enacted under it.”
“Given the explicit assignment of the tariff power to Congress within the Constitution… we interpret IEEPA as not granting unlimited tariff authority to the President,” the judges further explained.
As a result, “The contested Tariff Orders will be annulled and their enforcement permanently prohibited.”
Instead of granting a preliminary injunction, the judges handed down a summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs, thereby concluding the proceedings completely.
The Trump administration filed an appeal with the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, located in Washington D.C., resulting in a stay being issued on the decision made by the lower court.
“The Court of International Trade has temporarily stayed both the judgments and the permanent injunctions in these cases until further notice, as this court reviews the motion papers,” the statement reads.
order
read.
The Trump administration has been granted a deadline of June 9 to submit its legal memorandum.
Jeffrey Schwab, the senior counsel for the Liberty Justice Center who represents a number of the plaintiffs, referred to Thursday’s decision from the appellate court as merely “a procedural move” and anticipates that they will ultimately prevail in their case.
The Hill
reported.
“We believe the Federal Circuit will promptly reject the government’s motion once they recognize the irreversible damage these tariffs cause to our clients,” he stated.
Schwab further noted that this damage encompasses the loss of vital suppliers and clients, expensive alterations to well-established supply lines, and more ominously, poses an immediate risk to the existence of these enterprises.
Earlier in the day, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed the decision from the lower court, stating, “Three judges on the U.S. Court of International Trade contradicted this stance, blatantly abusing their judicial authority to override President Trump’s ability to implement the directive that the American citizens entrusted him with.”
She went on, “These judges did not recognize that the President of the United States possesses fundamental foreign affairs powers and authority granted by Congress to safeguard the country’s economy and national security.”
Leavitt pointed out, “The National Emergency Act was established by Congress to offer a legislative structure for invalidating inappropriate uses of IEEPA. Any concerns about whether Trump wrongly enforced these IEEPA tariffs were previously resolved in Congress after Liberation Day.”
On April 30, the Senate did so.
voted down
a Democrat-introduced resolution seeking to rescind Trump’s tariffs.
