Adds White House reaction, additional court action
President Donald Trump's administration is asking a federal court to suspend a ruling issued late Wednesday that blocked emergency tariffs on nearly all imports, warning that failure to do so will be a foreign policy "disaster" and "shatter" trade negotiations with dozens of countries.
The administration is asking the US Court of International Trade to stay its ruling — which would permanently enjoin tariffs now set at 10pc for much of the world, but which are set to revert to higher rates in July absent intervention by Trump — until it has time to pursue an appeal. The harm to foreign affairs from leaving the court ruling intact during an appeal "could not be greater", the administration said, whereas putting the decision on hold will preserve the status quo during an appeal.
"It is critical, for the country's national security and the president's conduct of ongoing, delicate diplomatic efforts, that the court stay its judgment," the administration wrote in a legal filing after the court issued its sweeping ruling.
The White House said the three judges on the trade court panel behind the ruling, two of whom are Republican appointees, "brazenly abused their judicial power to usurp" Trump's authority. The administration expects appealing the unfavorable ruling "all the way to the Supreme Court" but believes other countries will continue to negotiate on trade agreements with the US as a way to prevent tariffs.
In a further setback for the administration, the US District Court for the District of Columbia today ruled in a separate lawsuit that Trump did not have authority to impose the tariffs, which were issued under a law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The effect of that ruling is far more limited and would only freeze tariffs on two small toy companies behind the lawsuit, in the event the broader ruling on Wednesday is put on hold.
Trump began imposing the emergency tariffs at issue in the case just weeks into his second term, starting with a 25pc tariff from Canada and Mexico and a 10pc incremental tariff on China, claiming they were in response to the threat of drug trafficking. Trump vastly expanded his use of tariffs on "Liberation Day" on 2 April on nearly every country based on an alleged "emergency" of trade imbalances, raising tariffs to as high as 145pc on China before lowering them to 30pc.
The Court of International Trade, in its ruling on Wednesday, found all of those tariffs were unlawful and gave the administration 10 days to implement its ruling. IEEPA did not offer Trump "unbounded" authority to put unlimited tariffs on nearly all goods imported in the US, the court said, but instead set limits on tariff authority that the administration did not follow.
If that ruling is upheld on appeal, the US will be required to offer refunds of emergency tariffs that have already been paid. The ruling does not affect separate "section 232" tariffs that Trump has imposed on steel, aluminum and automobiles, and that are being planned for pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and critical minerals. Trump could also pursue non-emergency "section 122" tariffs that would allow tariffs of up to 15pc, but those could only be used for 150 days.
The Trump administration, in its request for a stay, said the court's invalidation of emergency tariffs under IEEPA poses an immediate and "grave" harm to the US because those alternative tariff authorities do not allow the president to take "swift and flexible" actions that are needed to address national emergencies. At a minimum, the administration said the tariff suspension should only apply to the handful of manufacturers and states that filed the lawsuit.
To support its stay request, the administration included a declaration by US secretary of state Marco Rubio saying the injunction would cause "irreparable harm" to foreign policy and national security, while US trade representative Jamieson Greer said it will be a "foreign policy disaster scenario". US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick wrote it would "would destroy" a carefully negotiated agreement with China.
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent warned the ruling "will threaten to shatter our negotiations with dozens of countries" and create a risk that trading partners "feel a renewed boldness to take advantage of" a new ability to retaliate against the US.
The White House did immediately respond to a request for comment about the status of the collection of the emergency tariffs. The Trump administration, in its legal filing, said a stay of the ruling would not harm those who brought the tariff lawsuit because the US "will issue refunds" along with any interest that accrues during the appeal.
