The Trump administration was handed a major victory by a federal appeals court in the nation’s capital on Thursday.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit stated in a brief order that it is granting the administration’s request for an immediate administrative stay “to the extent that the judgments and the permanent injunctions entered by the Court of International Trade in these cases are temporarily stayed” for the time being.
The ruling temporarily halts the federal trade court’s decision to block many of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
A panel consisting of three judges ruled unanimously on Wednesday that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, which the president cited to impose the levies, didn’t grant Trump the authority to create unlimited tariffs on imports from almost every foreign country.
The U.S. Court of International Trade slapped a permanent ban on the president’s 10 percent tariff that was placed on nearly every trading partner of the United States, along with Trump’s duties on imports coming from China, Mexico, and Canada.
“The Constitution assigns Congress the exclusive powers to ‘lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises,’ and to ‘regulate Commerce with foreign Nations,’” the court opined. “The question in the two cases before the court is whether the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (‘IEEPA’) delegates these powers to the President in the form of authority to impose unlimited tariffs on goods from nearly every country in the world.”
“The court does not read IEEPA to confer such unbounded authority and sets aside the challenged tariffs imposed thereunder,” the court added.
At the time the panel made this ruling, financial markets were thrilled. The U.S. dollar actually increased its value after the order. At the time, the judges had ordered the current administration to go back to the drawing board and craft new tariffs that reflect the permanent injunction within a period of 10 days.
Trump’s administration appealed the decision immediately and issued several questions concerning the authority of the court. The court was not asked to address some of the industry-specific tariffs the president issued on steel and aluminum, automobiles, and more.
“The decisions of the Manhattan-based Court of International Trade, which hears disputes involving international trade and customs laws, can be appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., and ultimately the U.S. Supreme Court,” Reuters reported.
Despite the big victory, there are still several lawsuits active that argue the “Liberation Day” tariffs have exceeded the legal authority of the commander-in-chief.
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Jonathan Turley Says Trump Has Authority To Slap Tariffs On World
George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said Thursday on “The Ingraham Angle” that President Donald Trump has the authority to hit other countries with reciprocal tariffs.
A three-judge panel on the New York-based Court of International Trade ruled Wednesday that the president could not use his executive powers to impose reciprocal tariffs on imports. While discussing the ruling, Fox host Laura Ingraham told Turley that the tariffs could “withstand judicial scrutiny,” as previous tariffs from Trump’s first administration were upheld after being dragged through court.
“Correct. The fact is the administration wanted to try this approach. This was a three-point shot, and they hit the rim because the courts just don’t see it. But he has authority, and that’s one of the reasons why these negotiations are likely to go forward. Other countries are very sophisticated. They know what authority he has. They know that he can now turn, as he did in his first term, to pursue those,” Turley said.
“They’re not particularly onerous, he can really do that and make relatively fast work of it. Now, Congress may also want to be equally nimble here,” Turley added. “The important thing is that Trump has been using these tariffs like a gun to the head of these other countries, and the court just removed the bullets.”
Within the court’s ruling, the federal panel stated that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, used under Trump when implementing the tariffs, does not authorize “the Worldwide, Retaliatory, or Trafficking Tariff Orders.”
The ruling comes after the Trump administration received a handful of lawsuits over the president’s April “Liberation Day,” during which he announced that a baseline tariff of 10% would be imposed on a list of countries, with others receiving a higher rate based on their tariffs against the U.S.
Shortly after the announcement, Trump decided to place a 90-day pause on all tariffs—except for those on China due to its retaliation against the United States.
Turley went on to say that Congress has already “refused” to undo Trump’s tariffs within a Senate bill, referring to a bipartisan measure introduced in April to restrict the president’s power to impose tariffs without congressional approval.
“The fact is that Congress can come in, even if they don’t like the tariffs, and say ‘Look, we’re in this now. We don’t want to undermine the president. We want to see these deals completed and see if they can also signal support.’ Now, keep in mind, recently Congress refused to undo the tariffs in a Senate bill, so they’ve already had that vote.”
On April 30, the Senate deadlocked in a 49-49 vote on a measure to restrict Trump’s authority over tariffs, falling short of the majority needed for passage.
The Trade Review Act of 2025, introduced earlier that month by Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, sought to require congressional approval for tariffs by mandating a simple majority vote within 60 days of their implementation.
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