Trump gains temporary boost as U.S. appeals court keeps tariffs in place for now

A U.S. appeals court has temporarily allowed President Trump's import tariffs to remain in effect, after a lower court ruled Wednesday they were illegal.

Our Kim Jung-sil reports.

A U.S. appeals court has allowed President Trump's trade tariffs to stay in place for now, by putting a temporary hold on a lower court's decision to block them.

This puts on hold Wednesday's ruling by the U.S. Court of International Trade, which said Trump had gone beyond his legal powers in imposing sweeping tariffs on imports under an emergency-powers law.

The law, known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, says the president may use its powers only to address "unusual and extraordinary" national security threats.

The court said IEEPA does not give the president full control over trade policy.

But on Thursday, the appeals court said that decision would not be enforced while judges review the case.

It gave the plaintiffs until June 5th to file their response.

Also on Thursday, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., issued a separate ruling finding parts of Trump's tariff policy unlawful.

The judge wrote that the IEEPA does not enable the president to "unilaterally impose, revoke, pause, reinstate, and adjust tariffs to reorder the global economy".

Earlier that day, the White House defended the tariffs, saying they're necessary to protect American industries.

"President Trump is in the process of rebalancing America's trading agreements with the entire world, bringing tens of billions of dollars in tariff revenues to our country, and finally ending the United States of America from being ripped off."

With legal challenges mounting, the future of the tariffs remains uncertain.

Kim Jung-sil, Arirang News.