A federal appeals court has offered President Donald Trump a chance to obtain a stay of a ruling that threatens to upend much of his tariff agenda, offering at least some hope to the White House as it faces a raft of new constraints in its efforts to reshape the global trading order.
The US government welcomed the order of the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, seeing it as confirmation of its firm resolve to challenge the ruling made by the Court of International Trade on Wednesday night, which blocked some of the tariffs imposed by Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
Trump welcomed the appellate court’s ruling on social media Thursday night, while calling the original verdict “so wrong and so political!” He claimed that seeking congressional approval for tariffs would hamper his trade agenda and “completely destroy presidential power.”
Trump wrote in his post: “I hope the Supreme Court will act quickly and decisively to overturn this terrible and threatening ruling to the nation.”
Although the ruling was temporarily put on hold, the possibility that the appeals court will ultimately uphold the original decision and block Trump’s tariff policy still looms over the White House. Additionally, another federal judge ruled that several taxes imposed by Trump under emergency powers were illegal, but the ruling only applied to the family business that filed the lawsuit and delayed the order’s effectiveness for 14 days to give the Justice Department time to appeal.
White House officials said they plan to continue defending the legality of their trade efforts before the US Supreme Court and indicated that if they are blocked, Trump will continue to impose the same taxes through other agencies.
White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt said on Thursday: “If the sensitive diplomatic or trade negotiations of President Trump – or any other president – are obstructed by radical judges, the United States cannot function properly. Ultimately, the Supreme Court must, for the sake of our Constitution and national interests, put an end to this practice.”
Despite the Trump team’s confidence, Wednesday’s preliminary ruling marks one of the biggest setbacks for the president during his second term. Trump had promised during his campaign to use tariffs to counter what he called unfair treatment of the United States by other countries, and the emergency law provided him with the quickest way to fulfill that promise.
According to calculations by Bloomberg Economics, this ruling will bring the effective tariff rate in the US down from a peak of nearly 27% last month to below 6%.
This legal dispute could also inject more uncertainty into the global economy, and Trump’s constantly changing stance on import taxes has already made the global economy uneasy. Trump’s team is negotiating with many trade partners seeking tariff relief, which may weaken his bargaining chips.
The trade court’s ruling on Wednesday blocked the imposition of tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, as well as a uniform import tax on almost all of America’s trading partners. Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, arguing that both fentanyl and the trade deficit were emergencies that required extensive use of executive power. The court ruled that his approach had gone too far.
Peter Navarro, a trade adviser to the United States, told reporters on Thursday: “I can assure you, American people, that Trump’s tariff agenda remains effective, sound and healthy, and will be implemented to protect you, save your jobs and factories.”
Navarro said that U.S. Trade Representative Jamie Long will soon discuss other options. “Any trade lawyer knows that there are many options we can take,” Navarro said.
A strategic shift could be time-consuming, delaying both the uncertainty of Trump’s tariff policy and the timetable for him to see the domestic political impact.
“Thinking that Trump will activate Plan B and impose tariffs through other means is problematic,” said James Lucier, managing director of research firm Capital Alpha Partners. “Yes, he will do that. But he doesn’t have enough time to implement tariffs and see results before the midterm elections.”
