Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs back on after appeals court decision

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OTTAWA — U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs are still hitting most countries around the world after a federal appeals court temporarily paused a decision from the U.S. Court of International Trade.

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The lower court’s Wednesday decision found Trump’s use of an emergency powers law to impose sweeping tariffs exceeded his authority.

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That lower court ruling says the Trump administration was not able to demonstrate how broad-based tariffs affected the fentanyl trafficking it used as justification for the tariffs.

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The ruling from the appeals court says that the Court of International Trade’s injunction is stayed while the appeals court considers arguments.

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The plaintiffs have until June 5 to reply to the Trump administration’s appeal of the lower court’s decision.

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Hours earlier, Prime Minister Mark Carney said in the House of Commons that the original ruling was “welcome” but Canada’s trade relationship with the U.S. is still threatened.

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Carney added that Canada’s “trading relationship with the United States is still profoundly and adversely threatened” by “unjustified” tariffs on steel, aluminum and the auto sector.

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“It therefore remains the top priority of Canada’s new government to establish a new economic and security relationship with the United States and to strengthen our collaboration with reliable trading partners and allies around the world,” he said.

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After question period, Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said he hadn’t seen the appeal court decision yet but the government’s goal of fighting for Canadian industry and workers hadn’t changed.

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Before the pause on the tariff injunction, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said she expects the appeal will go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and accused the federal court of “judicial overreach.”

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She said the administration will abide by the federal court’s ruling but noted that there are other legal avenues Trump can take to impose tariffs.

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“The administration is willing to use those. As you know, the administration has already applied section 232 tariffs on specific industries,” Leavitt said at the White House press briefing Thursday before the appeals court decision.

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Section 232 is the portion of U.S. trade law Trump used to implement tariffs on steel, aluminum and automobiles, which remain in place.

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Candace Laing, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president, said “the end of this trade war with the U.S. will not come through the courts.”

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“It will come when we have negotiated a durable new agreement on trade that is trusted and respected by all involved,” she said in a media statement responding to the lower court’s ruling.

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Leavitt said the Trump administration still plans to negotiate new trade deals even as the courts decide the future of what Trump has called “Liberation Day” tariffs.