A U.S. federal appeals court has temporarily paused a lower-court ruling that blocked President Donald Trump’s 10 percent global tariff, allowing the administration to continue collecting the duty while the legal fight proceeds.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued an administrative stay on Tuesday, giving judges more time to consider the government’s request to keep the tariff in effect during the appeal. The stay applies for now to three importers that had won relief from the tariff last week.
The dispute centers on whether Trump had authority under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose a broad 10 percent import surcharge. That law allows temporary tariffs of up to 15 percent for as long as 150 days to address serious balance-of-payments problems or related currency issues. Trump imposed the new tariff in February after the Supreme Court struck down many of his earlier global tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Last week, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled 2-1 that the administration had not met the legal requirements for using Section 122. The court said Trump’s proclamation failed to show that the statutory conditions had been satisfied and declared the tariffs imposed on the plaintiffs “unauthorized by law.”
The plaintiffs, including a coalition of states and importers, argue that the tariff campaign is an abuse of executive power and has increased costs for American businesses and consumers. Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown said consumers and companies have ultimately paid the price for what he called an illegal tariff policy.
The appeals court’s stay does not decide the legality of the tariff. It simply leaves the duties in place temporarily while the court reviews the administration’s request.
The case is unfolding as refunds from Trump’s earlier invalidated IEEPA tariffs begin moving through the system. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a Tuesday court filing that it had processed refunds, including interest, worth $35.46 billion on 8.3 million shipments as of May 11.
The Section 122 tariff remains time-limited and is scheduled to expire in July unless Congress extends it. The appeals process will determine whether the administration can continue using the measure until then.
