Tariffs get appeals court pause, but they will remain anyway

by Josh Wingrove

President Donald Trump’s administration insists his tariffs are here to stay, one way or another.

The White House spent Thursday triaging the fallout from a pair of rulings that suspended the bulk of his tariffs, imposed under an emergency authority that the courts say he overstepped. A federal appeals court temporarily paused that decision in order to hear arguments, though it could ultimately back the original ruling and block Trump’s tariff policy.

While Trump has vowed to appeal all the way to the Supreme Court if needed, the message from his top aides has been that the president will not be denied his tariff push, and would simply turn to other authorities if needed. 

“There’s no Plan B. It’s Plan A,” Peter Navarro, one of Trump’s most hawkish trade advisers, told reporters Thursday. “Plan A encompasses all strategic options.”

Possible alternatives include Section 232 and 301 powers, which Trump has used previously, or so-called Section 122 powers, which are heavily restricted. He could also seek congressional approval, though that option would be laborious and steal precious Senate floor time from other priorities like judicial nominations and his signature “one big, beautiful” tax bill. 

Trump imposed wide-ranging tariffs on nearly every country using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, which the landmark trade court ruling Wednesday evening focused on. Using IEEPA is essentially a shortcut that allowed Trump to declare an emergency and seize unilateral tariff authority that has historically rested with Congress.

“He wanted to use the sweeping powers of IEEPA,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a Fox News interview aired Thursday evening. “Now, he has many, many other laws and authorities that he can use, and he’ll take them out if he needs to, but right now, he likes the sweeping authority because it lets him deal with everybody who treats us unfairly.”

If Trump’s appeals fail, he may be forced to pivot to other powers to resuscitate his “Liberation Day” tariffs, including those paused at 10% pending negotiations ahead of a July deadline. Also struck down were tariffs related to fentanyl.

Section 122 would allow the president to impose tariffs of 15% — higher than his paused 10% rate, but well below rates of up to 50% he initially announced — and only for as long as 150 days. 

Navarro acknowledged Thursday that it was under consideration but appeared disinterested. “Section 122 only gives you 150 days,” he said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “So there’s your answer right there.” The Wall Street Journal reported late Thursday that the option was under consideration. 

Trump has already used Section 232 powers to enact tariffs on steel, aluminum and automobiles, all of which were enacted based on investigations that predated his current term. He’s launched other investigations to add other tariffs under the same authority, including on semiconductors and a raft of consumer electronics that carry them, pharmaceutical drugs, copper and other products.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt pointed to Section 232 powers as a warning to nations that might see the court setback as leverage.

“These other countries should also know, and they do know, that the president reserves other tariff authorities, Section 232, for example, to ensure that America’s interests are being restored around the world,” she said.

Asked to elaborate on whether that means he’d launch new Section 232 probes or fast-track existing ones, she demurred. “I’m just simply stating the fact that the president has other legal authorities he can use to implement tariffs, and the administration is willing to use those,” she said. 

Leavitt also called on the Supreme Court to side with the administration and codify the wide-ranging IEEPA powers, accusing the courts of overreach. “The Supreme Court must put an end to this for the sake of our Constitution and our country,” she said.

Navarro also pointed to Section 301 powers, which Trump has used against China and which require laborious investigations akin to the 232 probes, and to Section 338 powers. The 338 powers hail from a 1930 law that allows a president to impose tariffs of up to 50% on countries that discriminate against the US; they have never been enacted, according to the Congressional Research Service. 

One option Trump has publicly discussed — but not embraced — would be to send his tariff plans to Congress. Republicans only narrowly control the House and Senate, leaving little room to spare if the central pillar of his international economic agenda came up for a vote.

“The horrific decision stated that I would have to get the approval of Congress for these Tariffs,” Trump wrote in a Thursday evening Truth Social post. “In other words, hundreds of politicians would sit around D.C. for weeks, and even months, trying to come to a conclusion as to what to charge other Countries that are treating us unfairly.”

While the court cases continue, Navarro signaled the White House may reveal its intentions shortly, saying that US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will outline the administration’s response to recent tariff rulings the “next day or two.” 

Copyright Bloomberg News