US appeals court keeps Trump's sweeping tariffs in place for now

A federal appellate court on Tuesday granted the Donald Trump administration's request to keep the president's far-reaching tariffs in effect but agreed to fast-track its consideration of the case this summer.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit extended its earlier temporary pause of a trade court decision that found Trump exceeded his powers by imposing the tariffs.

The appeals court said it intends to hear arguments on July 31, which means the tariffs likely will remain in effect until then.

Ilya Somin, a law professor at George Mason University's Scalia Law School and the plaintiff's attorney in the case, described the court's decision as "unfortunate" and expressed his confidence in the case and hopes for a faster ruling.

The appeals court has yet to rule on whether the tariffs are permissible under an emergency economic powers act that Trump cited to justify them, but it allowed the tariffs to remain in place while the appeals play out.

A three-judge panel of the US Court of International Trade ruled on May 28 that the US Constitution gives Congress, not the president, the power to levy taxes and tariffs, and that the president had exceeded his authority by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a law intended to address "unusual and extraordinary" threats during national emergencies.

The next day, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit granted the Trump administration's request to temporarily pause the trade court's ruling until further notice while the appeals court considers the motion's papers.