Trump’s 'Liberation Day' tariffs temporarily restored following trade court ruling
29 May 2025, 20:46 | Updated: 30 May 2025, 06:09
Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs have been temporarily restored after a US federal court judge ruled that he “exceeded his authority”.
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A temporary pause has been put on a lower-court ruling that blocked most of Trump's tariffs last night.
A ruling by the US Court of International Trade found that the President did not have the unilateral authority to issue tariffs for nearly every country.
On Wednesday night, three federal court judges blocked his global tariffs as result.
But the Trump administration told the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit it would seek “emergency relief” from the Supreme Court as early as Friday if the ruling was not quickly paused.
Read more: Wall Street climbs after US court shoots down Trump's sweeping trade tariffs
The judgement has now been “temporarily stayed until further notice while this court considers the motions papers,” the appeals court's order said.
It means the tariffs will stay in place while the case makes its way through the courts.
Following the initial ruling on Wednesday, Trump's deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, hit out at the court on social media, writing: "The judicial coup is out of control."
In a strongly worded statement on Wednesday, the White House added: "It is not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency."
Spokesperson Kush Desai continued that trade deficits - where imports exceed exports to a given country - have "decimated American communities and left our workers behind".
The panel of three judges included Jane Restani, appointed by Ronald Reagan, Gary Katzmann, a Barack Obama appointee and Timothy Reif, who was nominated by Trump in 2018.
The lawsuit, filed by the Liberty Justice Center on behalf of five small businesses that import goods from countries targeted by Trump's trade tariffs, was the first major legal challenge to Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs.
Trump slapped down a 10% tariff on almost every country earlier this year, sparking turmoil in global markets.
He also imposed higher rates for some countries including Mexico, Canada and China.
Meanwhile, industry-specific tariffs such as an additional 25% rate on steel, aluminium and cars, have also been introduced.