U.S. Appeals Court Reinstates President Trump’s Import Tariffs

A U.S. federal appeals court has reinstated U.S. President Donald Trump’s import tariffs a day after a trade court had ruled that the duties are unlawful and ordered a halt to them.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C. reinstated the tariffs while it considers the case and gives both the plaintiffs and Trump administration time to prepare their legal arguments in the matter.

A surprise ruling by the U.S. Court of International Trade on May 28 had threatened to end the imposition of Trump’s “retaliatory tariffs” on most of America’s trading partners, including Canada.

The halt to import tariffs also threatened to prevent President Trump from continuing to wield his favourite economic weapon.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to impose huge tariffs on other nations to bring them to the bargaining table on trade or get them to do as he wants.

The U.S. president most recently threatened sweeping tariffs of as high as 50% on the European Union (EU).

However, Trump almost always backs down on his tariff threats. His administration initially imposed import duties of 145% on China before lowering them to 30%.

The back-and-forth on tariffs has led to investors to coin a term for the current situation and its impact on the stock market, calling it the “TACO trade,” which is an acronym from “Trump always chickens out.”

It is not clear where the reinstatement of Trump’s tariffs leaves the U.S. or the president’s administration.

Immediately after the U.S. Court of International Trade blocked the import duties, Trump said he would take the matter to America’s Supreme Court.