An appeals court Thursday allowed US President Donald Trump’s April 2 tariffs on countries to remain in place for now, till the White House’s appeal against the US trade court ruling of Wednesday makes its way through the courts. The trade court blocked Trump’s global tariffs, saying the president had overstepped his authority and hence tariffs are ‘illegal’.
In its order, the appeals court said: “The request for an immediate administrative stay is granted to the extent that the judgments and the permanent injunctions entered by the Court of International Trade in these cases are temporarily stayed until further notice while this court considers the motions papers.”
If the Trump administration loses the appeal, it is expected to escalate the case to the US Supreme Court.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump’s chief trade adviser Peter Navarro said the administration “will respond forcefully” to the trade court’s decision and is prepared to “fight this all the way up the chain.” He added, “You can assume even if we lose, we will do it another way.”
Navarro confirmed that the tariffs would remain in effect for now due to the court’s stay, and that the administration is continuing trade negotiations with other countries.
What was the standing of the US Court of International Trade?
The Court of International Trade on Wednesday stated that Trump overstepped his authority when he invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, on what he called “Liberation Day”, meaning his plans to impose a baseline 10 per cent tariff on all nations – as well as higher levies on certain countries – were temporarily blocked.
The court was not asked to address the industry-specific tariffs, which fall under a different law.
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Twelve US states (including New York, New Mexico, Connecticut and Arizona) had challenged the tariffs, as did five small businesses. The court combined the two cases.
States had argued that the burden of paying for tariffs on imports fell on them, and that tariffs also did not specifically target drug cartels, which was cited as one reason for the initial tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China.
‘Judicial overreach’
White House press Secretary Karoline Leavitt during her daily briefing, termed the Court of International Trade decision as an example of “judicial overreach” by the judges.
Leavitt pointed that Trump introduced tariffs to tackle US trade deficits with other nations, which she termed as an extraordinary threat to national security and the economy.
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Trump’s tariffs were “legally sound,” Leavitt said, adding that the tariffs were we “long overdue” and “bold stance” on the trade deficit.
