Reciprocal Tariffs Extended Pending Appeals

Federal Circuit’s stay leaves IEEPA tariffs in place until at least August; plaintiffs in separate action seek Supreme Court intervention.

On June 10, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit extended the stay of the ruling and injunction on the U.S. Court of International Trade’s (CIT) decision on President Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

A temporary stay previously had been granted on the CIT’s May 28, 2025 ruling, which invalidated (and permanently enjoined) the president’s use of the IEEPA (50 U.S.C. Sec. 1701 et. seq.) to impose near-universal reciprocal and certain other tariffs.

And on June 17, 2025, the plaintiffs in a parallel challenge to the tariffs on similar grounds filed a motion with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking “expedited consideration”—essentially, intervention—of the government’s appeal pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. While the District Court in that case ruled in the plaintiffs’ favor, the plaintiffs still seek relief from the stay the lower court issued pending appeal.

The CIT had determined (in a consolidated action brought by a group of private plaintiffs and 12 state governments) that the Trump administration’s use of the IEEPA for such duties exceeded the scope of its authority under the Act and was insufficiently related to the specific emergencies cited in invoking it. Almost simultaneously, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of two small business, private plaintiffs on nearly identical grounds – that the President had no Constitutional authority to set tariffs, and that the cited emergency did not support their imposition under the IEEPA.

Timing Unclear Amidst Tariff Pause

The D.C. Circuit plaintiffs’ timeline is unclear, until the Supreme Court responds; their petition asks that the Court either convene a special sitting in September or hear the matter first at their next scheduled sitting in October.

On the other hand, the Federal Circuit’s order essentially means that the so-called “reciprocal” tariffs, as well as the fentanyl-related tariffs imposed on China, remain in effect until the outcome of the government’s appeal from the CIT decision. The President has paused the reciprocal tariffs (except for China) until July 9, 2025. The Federal Circuit’s order sets the date for oral argument on the appeal is set for July 31, 2025—indicating that a final decision is unlikely before early August, at the earliest. In the meantime, unless the administration extends the current pause, the tariffs will come into force on July 10, 2025.

Of note: the Federal Circuit’s order, citing the “exceptional importance” of the issues, directed “expedited en banc consideration” of the case, meaning that instead of the normal three-judge panel, the appeal will be heard by all 12 active Federal Circuit judges.