The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has granted the Trump administration’s request to temporarily reinstate tariffs that were previously invalidated by the U.S. Court of International Trade. The appeals court issued an order stating that the tariffs are “temporarily stayed until further notice while this court considers the motions papers.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the President’s actions during a briefing on Thursday. “Certainly the President is acting within his authority,” Leavitt said. “All of the actions the President has taken rely on legal authorities that have already been granted to him by our nation’s existing laws.”
The international trade court had ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act did not grant presidents “unbounded authority” to enact tariffs, leading to the block on all retaliatory tariffs issued in early April. The Trump administration filed an appeal shortly after, seeking to maintain the tariffs during the legal process.
“The Supreme Court must put an end to this,” Leavitt stated. “These judges are threatening to undermine the credibility of the United States on the world stage.”
In a related case, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras issued a preliminary injunction blocking the administration from collecting tariffs from two educational toy companies, Learning Resources Inc. and hand2mind Inc., which manufacture most of their products in Asia. Judge Contreras described the tariffs as “unlawful” but stayed his order for 14 days to allow for potential appeals.
