Less than 24 hours after a U.S. trade court struck down sweeping tariffs from the Trump administration, a federal appeals court has given the levies a temporary reprieve. 

In a May 28 ruling, the three-member U.S. Court of International Trade (USCIT) unanimously ordered a halt to the tariffs announced by President Trump on April 2, asserting that the White House does not have unilateral authority to impose the duties using emergency powers. According to CNN, the court's order covered the 10% tariffs against all imports into the U.S., as well as 30% levies against China, and 25% tariffs against a handful of goods from Mexico and Canada, but did not impact the 25% tariffs on foreign cars, auto parts, steel and aluminum.

The following day, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit temporarily restored Trump's ability to enact tariffs using emergency powers while the case plays out, and ordered both sides to submit written arguments by early June.

For the bulk of its tariffs, the Trump administration has invoked 1977's International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which allows the President to regulate trade in response to a national emergency. Even so, the IEEPA had never been used as a justification for tariffs before, and according to a lawsuit filed with the USCIT, the law exists as a means to constrain the President's power, rather than expand it. All three judges on the Manhattan-based USCIT — one of whom was appointed by Trump — agreed with plaintiffs in the suit, ruling that the IEEPA "does not authorize any of the worldwide, retaliatory, or trafficking tariff orders" put in place by the White House under the auspices of a national emergency.

White House spokesperson Kush Desai responded to the trade court's ruling in a written statement, claiming that "it is not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency." Although White House economic advisor Kevin Hassett downplayed the situation as one of a few "little hiccups," without the threat of tariffs, the case could ultimately undercut the administration's plan to negotiate new trade deals with upwards of 90 countries.