Remember, just a couple of weeks ago, when we were getting whiplash over multiple court rulings regarding the tariffs implemented by the Trump administration?
First, the Court of International Trade (CIT) held that the Trump administration's actions on tariffs, invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), exceeded the president's authority under the statute and thus violated the separation of powers set forth by the Constitution. Then Judge Rudolph Contreras of the D.C. District Court ruled against the tariffs the following morning.
But by the next evening, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals had issued an administrative (temporary) stay on the CIT's ruling. (Contreras took a hint from that last week and stayed his rulings pending appeal.)
READ MORE: Federal Trade Court Strikes Down Trump’s 'Liberation Day' Tariffs, Citing Overreach
Not So Fast: Federal Circuit Halts Trade Court Ruling on Trump Tariffs
Now, the Federal Circuit has taken it a step further and formally issued a stay of the CIT rulings pending appeal. Additionally, they've ordered the cases (it's actually two different cases that have been consolidated) to be heard by the court en banc (i.e., by the full court) in expedited fashion.
The court's order is brief. The pertinent portion reads:
The United States’s motions for a stay of the United States Court of International Trade’s rulings enjoining certain Executive Orders imposing tariffs, the Plaintiffs-Appellees’ oppositions, and the United States’s reply were presented to all circuit judges of this court in regular active service who are not recused or disqualified. Both sides have made substantial arguments on the merits. Having considered the traditional stay factors, see Fed. R. App. P. 8; Nken v. Holder, 556 U.S. 418, 426 (2009), the court concludes a stay is warranted under the circumstances. See also Trump v. Wilcox, 605 U.S. ___, 145 S. Ct. 1415, 1415 (2025) (per curiam) (“The purpose of . . . interim equitable relief is not to conclusively determine the rights of the parties, but to balance the equities as the litigation moves forward.” (quoting Trump v. Int’l Refugee Assistance Project,582 U.S. 571, 580 (2017)). The court also concludes that these cases present issues of exceptional importance warranting expedited en banc consideration of the merits in the first instance.
Per the court's order, the parties are to come up with an expedited briefing schedule that will allow for oral argument before the court on July 31, 2025.
Again, I'll point out that this is not a ruling on the merits. It's a procedural pause imposed to allow the appeal to be resolved on the merits while maintaining the status quo (i.e, the tariffs may remain in effect, assuming the administration doesn't work out other, more beneficial deals in the interim).
With oral argument at the end of July, it's likely the Federal Circuit's ruling (on the merits) will come in August or September. For now, this is a win for the administration.
Editor's Note: President Trump is leading America into the "Golden Age" as Democrats try desperately to stop it.
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