Appeals court allows Trump to continue collecting tariffs under an emergency powers law for now

Friday, 30 May 2025

A US appeals court has allowed President Donald Trump to continue collecting tariffs under an emergency powers law for now, as his administration appeals an order striking down the bulk of his signature set of economic policies.

A three-judge panel of the US Court of International Trade ruled Wednesday (local time) that Trump overstepped his authority when he invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to declare a national emergency and plaster taxes – tariffs – on imports from almost every country in the world.

The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit granted an emergency motion from the Trump administration arguing that a halt is “critical for the country’s national security.”

The appeals court temporarily halted the order from a federal trade court.

Earlier, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said the president had “other legal authorities he can use to implement tariffs” which his administration was looking at.

The court ruling on Wednesday was a big setback for Trump, whose erratic trade policies have rocked financial markets, paralysed businesses with uncertainty and raised fears of higher prices and slower economic growth.

But economists and trade analysts say Trump’s trade wars are far from over.

The administration is appealing the decision and has other ways to pursue the president's goal of using tariffs to lure factories back to America, raise money for the US Treasury and pressure other countries into bending to his will.