US appeals court reinstates Trump's tariffs

NEW YORK -- A day after the US Court of International Trade invalidated US President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs and other duties, a federal appeals court on Thursday granted the Trump administration's request to temporarily pause the trade court's ruling.

The judgment issued Wednesday by the international trade court is "temporarily stayed until further notice while this court considers the motions papers," the appeals court said in its order.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit's reinstating of Trump's tariffs gives the administration some breathing room, local media reported on Thursday.

"Certainly the President is acting within his authority," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a briefing Thursday. "All of the actions the President has taken rely on legal authorities that have already been granted to him by our nation's existing laws."

The judges at the international trade court ruled on Wednesday that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act Trump had invoked to enact tariffs did not "confer such unbounded authority" to presidents.

The block they imposed covered all of the retaliatory tariffs Trump issued in early April. They also barred the Trump administration from making any further modifications to the tariffs in question.

The administration filed a notice of appeal shortly after the ruling, asking the trade court to pause enforcement of the ruling during the appeal process. It also sought "interim relief" from the federal appellate court.

"The Supreme Court must put an end to this," Leavitt said. "These judges are threatening to undermine the credibility of the United States on the world stage."

Also on Thursday, US District Judge Rudolph Contreras of Washington, D.C. issued a preliminary injunction blocking the Trump administration from collecting tariffs from two educational toy companies, Learning Resources Inc. and hand2mind Inc., who manufacture most of products in Asia.

Contreras, calling the tariffs "unlawful," stayed his order for 14 days "so the parties may seek review in the Court of Appeals."