
Trump administration wins first appeal against tariff freeze imposed by two US federal courts. A federal appeals court has overturned the first White House trade policy order issued by the US Court of International Trade in New York, a ban that prompted an immediate and harsh reaction from the Trump administration, calling it a coup by the judges.
The appeals court temporarily reinstated the tariffs, a day after the U.S. Trade Court ruled that Trump had exceeded his authority in imposing the duties and ordered them to be immediately blocked. The three-judge panel of the trade court ruled that the Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power to impose taxes and tariffs, and that the president had exceeded his authority by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a law intended to address threats during national emergencies.
"The decisions and permanent orders issued by the International Court of Trade in these cases are temporarily suspended until further notice, while this court reviews the motion documents," the Appeals Court order said.
The administration had threatened to appeal to the Supreme Court if the Court of Appeals did not accept its request to block the tariff decision.
Following the Commerce Court's ruling, another court had blocked most of Trump's tariffs, saying the US president cannot claim unilateral authority to impose them by declaring emergencies related to trade deficits and the trafficking of fentanyl, the opioid that causes tens of thousands of deaths each year in the United States alone.
The US president himself reacted sharply to Wednesday's decision by the trade court, calling it political and terrible. He wrote that he hoped the US Supreme Court would "overturn this terrible and country-threatening decision" of the trade court, calling it un-American.
"The terrible ruling says I should have gotten Congressional approval for the tariffs," Trump lashed out via Truth Social, adding that if the trade court ruling had been upheld, it would have affected the presidency.
"In other words, hundreds of politicians would have to gather in Washington for weeks, or even months, trying to come to a conclusion about how much they should charge other countries that treat us unfairly. If this decision had been upheld, it would have completely destroyed presidential power: the presidency would never have been the same! With this decision, our country would have lost trillions of dollars, money that would have made America great again. The President of the United States should have the right to protect America from those who are causing economic and financial harm," Trump said.