US President Donald Trump scored a temporary reprieve in his ongoing trade war efforts after a federal appeals court stayed a lower court’s decision that struck down most of his global tariffs.
The Thursday (May 29) decision allows the administration’s controversial import duties to remain in place for now.
The decision by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit provides breathing room for Trump and his trade team as they prepare a full appeal, following a blistering Wednesday (May 28) night ruling by the US Court of International Trade that invalidated nearly all of the Trump-imposed tariffs not tied to national security.
The trade court found Trump overstepped under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, saying it “does not confer such unbounded authority” to enact sweeping economic penalties without congressional oversight.
The decision jeopardized key components of Trump’s aggressive tariff program — including a blanket 10 percent import tax and recent “reciprocal tariffs” targeting countries like China, Canada, Mexico and members of the European Union.
But for now, the tariffs will remain in effect. The appellate court granted the Trump administration’s request to pause enforcement of the trade court’s order “until further notice while this court considers the motions papers.”
The next hearing is set for June 5.
White House reacts swiftly, blasts judicial overreach
Trump administration officials reacted with fury to the trade court’s initial decision, describing it as an affront to executive authority in foreign policy and economic matters.
“The political branches, not courts, make foreign policy and chart economic policy,” the White House said in its appeal filing. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt expressed similar concerns on Thursday, saying:
“America cannot function if President Trump, or any other president for that matter, has their sensitive diplomatic or trade negotiations railroaded by activist judges.”
Trump himself took to social media on Thursday morning to vent, writing: “Hopefully, the Supreme Court will reverse this horrible, Country threatening decision, QUICKLY and DECISIVELY.”
He later added: “This would completely destroy Presidential Power — The Presidency would never be the same!”
Peter Navarro, Trump’s top trade advisor, also signaled that the administration was already exploring alternatives, stating that even if it lost the battle in the Supreme Court, it “will do it another way.”
The Wednesday judgment had required the White House to make changes within 10 days.
The administration responded by notifying both the trade court and the appellate court of its intent to challenge the ruling all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary.
“TACO trade” meme gains steam as Trump backpedals
Adding to the storm surrounding the tariffs is growing traction of the term “TACO trade” — a satirical acronym coined by Financial Times columnist Robert Armstrong that stands for “Trump Always Chickens Out.”
The phrase has caught fire on Wall Street and social media, referring to Trump’s habit of threatening steep tariffs, only to roll them back amid market backlash or diplomatic pressure.
The phenomenon was on full display last month, when Trump announced what he called “Liberation Day,” unveiling sweeping tariffs as high as 145 percent on imports from nearly every major trading partner.
Within a week, those tariffs were scaled down to a baseline 10 percent. Duties on Chinese goods were first reduced to 30 percent and then to 10 percent, while deadlines for tariffs on European goods were postponed.
On Wednesday, visibly irritated by the nickname, Trump lashed out at a reporter who asked about the “TACO trade” label. “Oh, I chicken out. Isn’t that nice? I’ve never heard that,” Trump said, bristling at the question.
“You call that chickening out? It’s called negotiation,” he added.
“Six months ago, this country was stone cold dead. We had a dead country. We had a country that people didn’t think was going to survive. And you ask a nasty question like that,” Trump continued.
Despite his protests, “TACO trade” has become a viral symbol of his erratic approach to global commerce. California Governor Gavin Newsom mocked the administration after the trade court ruling, saying, “It’s raining tacos today.”
So far, the administration’s tariffs on steel, aluminum and cars remain untouched by the ruling.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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