A federal appeals court on Thursday reinstated the most sweeping of President Donald Trump's tariffs, a day after a trade court ruled he had exceeded his authority in imposing the duties and ordered an immediate block on them.
An order from the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington provided no opinion or reason, but directed the plaintiffs in the case to respond by June 5 and the administration by June 9.
Wednesday's surprise ruling by the US Court of International Trade had threatened to kill or at least delay the imposition of Mr Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs on most American trading partners, and import levies on goods from Canada, Mexico and China over his claims that they were enabling the flow of fentanyl into the US.
Senior Trump administration officials had said they were undeterred by the trade court's ruling, as they expected either to prevail on appeal or use other presidential powers to ensure they went into effect.
The White House also said the ruling had not interfered with any negotiations with top trading partners that are scheduled in the days ahead. A fourth round of talks with Japan is set for Friday in Washington, and a trade negotiating team from India is headed to the US next week for talks.
Financial markets, which have responded wildly to every twist in Mr Trump's trade war, reacted with cautious optimism to the trade court ruling, although gains in stocks were largely limited by expectations that the court's ruling could face a lengthy appeals process.
Analysts said broad uncertainty remained regarding the future of Mr Trump's tariffs, which have cost companies more than $34 billion in lost sales and higher costs, according to a Reuters analysis.
Another federal court earlier on Thursday found Mr Trump had overstepped his authority in using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act for what he called "reciprocal" tariffs of at least 10 per cent on goods from most US trading partners, and the 25 per cent levies on goods from Canada, Mexico and China.
But the ruling stopping the tariffs only applied to the toy company that brought the case.
