Key Takeaways
- A federal appeals court has ruled President Donald Trump’s tariffs can stay in place while a court battle plays out over their legality.
- The ruling is the latest twist in Trump’s trade wars, which have fueled uncertainty about the future of the economy.
- Experts said Trump’s tariffs would likely have stayed on regardless of the legal battle, since he could use alternative procedures to impose them.
A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs can stay in place, at least for now.
The ruling by the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals allows the tariffs Trump imposed last month to stay in place while the courts decide on their legality. Late Wednesday, a lower court ordered many of Trump’s tariffs to be removed in 10 days because they were not justified under the emergency powers Trump cited when imposing them.
The court ruling is the latest twist in Trump’s on-again, off-again tariff campaign, which has stoked uncertainty among business and financial decision-makers about trade policy and fueled concerns about higher inflation and an economic slowdown among economists and the public.
The ruling affects Trump’s 10% tariff against most countries, as well as the higher “reciprocal” tariffs against certain trade partners, which he suspended until July to give trading partners time to negotiate trade deals. Several companies affected by the tariffs, as well as a group of states, had sued to stop them.
Trade experts said Trump would likely have been able to put the tariffs in place anyway using other powers.
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