Trump Tariffs On Nations To Remain In Effect As US Appeals Court Temporarily Stays Trade Court's Ruling

A US appeals court on Thursday (29 May) temporarily allowed the Trump Administration's 2 April tariffs on nations to remain in effect, pending the outcome of the White House's appeal against the US trade court's decision from Wednesday (28 May).

The US trade court had ruled that Trump had overstepped his authority in imposing the tariffs.

In its ruling, the appeals court stated “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," Indian Express reported.

It is expected that the case will be taken all the way to the US Supreme Court if the Trump administration loses the appeal.

Peter Navarro, Trump's chief trade adviser, told reporters outside the White House that the administration is ready to "fight this all the way up the chain" and "will respond forcefully" to the trade court's ruling.

"You can assume that even if we lose, we will do it in a different way," he continued.

The administration is still negotiating trade deals with other nations, and Navarro confirmed that the tariffs would stay in place for the time being due to the court's stay.

On Wednesday, the US Court of International Trade ruled that Trump had overstepped his authority when he invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act on what he called "Liberation Day."

As a result, his plans to impose a baseline 10 per cent tariff on all countries and higher levies on specific countries were temporarily halted.

The industry-specific tariffs, which are governed by a separate law, were not brought before the court.

Five small businesses and twelve US states, including New York, New Mexico, Connecticut, and Arizona, had challenged the tariffs. The two cases were combined by the court.

States had claimed that they were responsible for paying import duties and that the initial tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico were justified because they did not specifically target drug cartels.

The Court of International Trade ruling was described by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt as an instance of "judicial overreach" by the judges during her daily briefing.

Leavitt said that Trump imposed the tariffs to address the US trade deficits with other countries, which she described as an extraordinary threat to the economy and national security.

Leavitt maintained that Trump's tariffs were "legally sound" and that they were a "bold stance" on the trade deficit that was "long overdue."