A federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled that many of the tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump on China and other U.S. trading partners can remain in effect while the administration’s appeal proceeds. The ruling extends a temporary stay issued after a lower court in late May found the tariffs illegal.
The decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington offers a temporary but significant victory for the Trump administration, which had warned that suspending the tariffs could weaken the president’s position in ongoing international trade negotiations.
However, the administration still faces the challenge of convincing the court that President Trump lawfully exercised emergency powers when he introduced the tariffs—seen as a cornerstone of his trade agenda. Officials have already indicated a willingness to take the fight to the Supreme Court if necessary.
The ruling followed recent progress in U.S.-China trade talks, where negotiators reached a tentative agreement to extend a truce. Trump officials argued that lifting the tariffs during the appeal would have undermined those delicate negotiations. At the center of the legal dispute is Trump’s unprecedented use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a 1970s law typically used for national security sanctions. The statute does not explicitly authorize tariffs, and no prior president had used it for that purpose.
Nonetheless, the Trump administration used the law as the legal basis to bypass Congress and impose sweeping tariffs, aiming to generate revenue, boost American manufacturing, and secure more favorable trade agreements.
In April, a group of small businesses and a coalition of states sued the administration in the U.S. Court of International Trade, arguing that the tariffs were unlawful and economically harmful. The court agreed, ruling that Trump had exceeded the scope of his authority under IEEPA and ordering the White House to suspend many of the tariffs, including those targeting China, Canada, and Mexico.
The Trump administration quickly appealed, and the appellate court initially granted a short-term stay to keep the tariffs in place while it considered a broader pause. On Tuesday, the court granted that extension, allowing the tariffs to remain in effect while the legal battle unfolds.
“We’re disappointed the Federal Circuit allowed the unlawful tariffs to remain in place temporarily,” said Jeffrey Schwab, senior counsel at the Liberty Justice Center, which represents the small businesses challenging the tariffs. He added, “We trust the court will ultimately recognize what is clear: IEEPA does not give the president unchecked authority to impose tariffs at will.”
