Appeals Court Temporarily Reinstates Trump Tariffs a Day After They Were Blocked by U.S. Court of International Trade

The future of the Trump Administration’s tariffs remains uncertain as rulings about their legality ping-pong back and forth through the US court system.

On Wednesday, the United States Court of International Trade (CIT) ruled that many of Donald Trump’s tariffs exceed the authority granted to the president by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

The federal court struck down Trump’s April 2nd executive order establishing tariffs against 57 countries worldwide and several follow-up executive orders modifying the duties’ rates and start dates.

The CIT also axed a slew of earlier tariffs Trump had applied to Mexico, Canada and China, which he claimed were retaliation for failing to stop the flood of illegal narcotics into the US.

The Trump Administration immediately appealed the CIT’s ruling and requested a stay on the judgment, which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit granted.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted the CIT’s ruling on Thursday, arguing that Trump’s “sensitive diplomatic and trade negotiations” were being “derailed by activist judges.”

Equities largely tracked sideways throughout the legal drama, with the S&P 500 ticking up 0.4 on Thursday and the Nasdaq Composite jumping by 0.39. Crypto witnessed a dip, with the overall digital asset cap dropping by 2.7, per data from CoinGecko.