A US federal appeals court temporarily paused a ruling against US President Donald Trump’s global tariffs while considering a longer lasting hold on the sweeping decision, with the administration vowing to take the matter to the US Supreme Court if necessary.
A brief order granting the stay was issued on Thursday by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the latest twist in a case that has upended a pillar of Mr Trump’s economic agenda.
It puts an order blocking Trump’s tariffs on hold while the appeals court weighs a longer lasting stay sought by the US government.
In a court filing earlier on Thursday, the Justice Department said the decision a day earlier by the US Court of International Trade harmed the government’s diplomacy and intruded on Mr Trump’s exclusive authority to conduct foreign affairs.
It asked the appeals court to put the ruling on hold while the administration pursued a formal appeal.
The appeals court didn’t say how long its order would last, but it laid out a briefing schedule that runs until June 9th. The Trump administration is simultaneously asking the US Court of International Trade to put its own order on hold while the case is on appeal.
The White House had earlier vowed to fight the international trade court ruling that Mr Trump’s “liberation day” tariff scheme was illegal, accusing the panel of judges of “judicial over-reach” and insisting the president will “implement his United States First trade policies”.
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The trade court ruled late on Wednesday that Mr Trump did not have the authority to use the emergency economic powers legislation that he cited when he imposed sweeping global tariffs last month.
Commenting on the trade court ruling Tánaiste Simon Harris urged “calm and measured dialogue”.
“I want to stress the position once again today that what is required now is for both sides, the EU and the US, to engage in calm and measured dialogue and to do so in good faith,” he said.
“The continuing uncertainty over tariffs is the source of serious concern for businesses, here in Ireland but also across the EU and the US – businesses that are concerned about their cost base, their workers, and their plans to invest.”
The Trump administration moved quickly to appeal against the ruling, threatening to go to the Supreme Court if necessary to try and overturn the trade court’s decision, which White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt described as “another example of judicial over-reach”.
“Three judges of the US Court of International Trade . . . brazenly abused their judicial power to usurp the authority of President Trump, to stop him from carrying out the mandate that the American people gave him,” Ms Leavitt told reporters on Thursday afternoon.
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“Ultimately the Supreme Court must put an end to this, for the sake of our constitution and our country.”
Mr Trump’s top trade and economic advisers also insisted there were other ways for the president to pursue his global trade war – and that negotiations for deals with other nations would carry on despite the trade courts ruling.
“We think we have a strong case. Yes, we will immediately appeal and try to stay the ruling,” Peter Navarro, the chief architect of Trump’s trade wars, said on Thursday morning. - Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025/Additional reporting Bloomberg
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