White House Appeals Trade Court Ruling That Blocked Most Tariffs

The Trump administration reportedly asked the U.S. Court of Appeals to overturn a Wednesday (May 29) court ruling that largely blocked its tariffs and will take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court if the appeals court does not do so.

The Justice Department said in a Thursday court filing that the Wednesday decision by the U.S. Court of International Trade intrudes upon President Donald Trump’s authority to conduct foreign affairs and to issue tariffs on an emergency basis, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

“Absent at least interim relief from this court, the United States plans to seek emergency relief from the Supreme Court,” the administration’s filing said, according to the report.

In a Thursday post on X by its Rapid Response 47 account, the White House said that the ruling on the president’s tariffs is “blatantly wrong” and that the administration is “confident this decision will be overturned on appeal.”

In subsequent posts, the White House said Congress, not the courts, has the authority to review emergency declarations; voters gave the president a mandate to address trade deficits; and an earlier court ruling held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) grants the president the authority to unilaterally impose tariffs.

The Wednesday ruling by the Court of International Trade suspends the bulk of the White House tariffs, including the fentanyl-related tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico, the higher duties on goods from China and other countries, and the global flat tariff.

The ruling followed a lawsuit by Democrat-led states and sided with the attorneys general from 12 states who sued the administration last month, saying the tariffs had violated the law by imposing tariffs under the IEEPA.

“The law is clear: no president has the power to single-handedly raise taxes whenever they like,” New York State Attorney General Letitia James said in a Wednesday news release.

The White House said Wednesday that it would appeal the ruling.

“It is not for unelected judges to decide how to properly address a national emergency,” White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai said in a statement.

The White House’s levies against nearly all countries have been going through near-weekly changes, with new tariffs announced, then paused, delayed or rolled back, PYMNTS reported Wednesday (May 28).