US President Donald Trump won a significant legal relief on Tuesday after a federal appeals court temporarily paused a lower court ruling that had declared the president's sweeping 10% global tariff unlawful.
The ruling allows the contested duties to remain in effect while the case proceeds through the judiciary.
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued an unsigned administrative stay of last week's decision from the Court of International Trade, effectively calling a brief legal time-out to allow an appeals court panel time to consider the equities on both sides of the dispute before determining whether to invalidate the tariffs while litigation continues.
The ruling marks the latest chapter in a turbulent legal saga surrounding the administration's trade agenda.
Trump imposed the sweeping 10% import tax after the Supreme Court struck down an earlier, more expansive set of tariffs Trump had justified under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). In that case, the Supreme Court ruled that IEEPA does not authorize the president to impose blanket tariffs.
Undeterred, Trump reached for a different legal tool. He turned to Section 122 — a never-before-used provision of the US Trade Act of 1974 — imposing a 10% across-the-board surcharge set to expire July 24. The law permits the president to impose a temporary tariff of up to 15% for up to 150 days to address "large and serious" balance-of-payments deficits.
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However, the trade court ruled that such a deficit condition does not currently exist — noting that a balance-of-payments deficit is distinct from a trade deficit, something the administration itself acknowledged in court.
The court has not taken any position on the merits of Trump's appeal and is still considering whether to issue a longer-term stay pending full appeal proceedings. The administration argued that premature removal of the tariffs would trigger an immediate flood of imports, causing economic disruption.
The businesses and Washington state have seven days to oppose a longer pause of the lower court ruling in their favor.
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