By Matthew Holloway |
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes faced a setback last week in her legal challenge against President Donald Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued a favorable ruling for the President, allowing the tariffs challenged by Mayes’ and eleven other state Attorneys General to remain in effect pending appeal.
The appeals court blocked an order from the U.S. Court of International Trade, which struck down the tariffs on May 28th in State of Oregon, et al., v. Trump, et al. The appeals court acknowledged the Trump tariffs’ raise “issues of exceptional importance” and agreed to expedite the case. It will hear arguments before the entire court on July 31st. In the ruling, the court found that “both sides have made substantial arguments on the merits” and stated, “The court also concludes that these cases present issues of exceptional importance warranting expedited en banc consideration of the merits in the first instance.”
Responding to the ruling, President Trump wrote on Truth Social, “A Federal Appeals Court has just ruled that the United States can use TARIFFS to protect itself against other countries. A great and important win for the U.S.”
The May 28th ruling against the President resulted from two separate lawsuits, one brought by the Liberty Justice Center on behalf of five small U.S. businesses which depend on foreign imports and the second from a coalition of 12 states including Arizona.
Mayes claimed in a post to X that “The president does not have the authority to implement tariffs unilaterally.”
White House spokesman Kush Desai responded to the ruling saying, “The Trump administration is legally using the powers granted to the executive branch by the Constitution and Congress to address our country’s national emergencies of persistent goods trade deficits and drug trafficking. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ stay order is a welcome development, and we look forward to ultimately prevailing in court.”
At issue in the case are the discounted reciprocal tariffs that the Trump administration announced on April 2nd, which apply a 10% minimum tariff across the board, particularly in Europe, while applying more punitive tariffs, as high as 49%, in the case of Cambodia which charges the U.S. a 97% tariff or 34% initially for China, which at that point charged 67% on U.S. imports.
Through subsequent negotiations with China and a ratcheting upward of the tariffs, the U.S. duties on China stabilized at approximately 55% and will remain there under a new trade deal, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told CNBC.
Despite the legal imbroglio with leftist State AGs, President Trump announced Wednesday that China’s duties on U.S. goods will remain at 10%, where they paused in May when both sides agreed to a 90-day reprieve, and he provided a glimpse into the new agreement pending with Beijing.
In a post to Truth Social, Trump wrote, “OUR DEAL WITH CHINA IS DONE, SUBJECT TO FINAL APPROVAL WITH PRESIDENT XI AND ME. FULL MAGNETS, AND ANY NECESSARY RARE EARTHS, WILL BE SUPPLIED, UP FRONT, BY CHINA. LIKEWISE, WE WILL PROVIDE TO CHINA WHAT WAS AGREED TO, INCLUDING CHINESE STUDENTS USING OUR COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (WHICH HAS ALWAYS BEEN GOOD WITH ME!). WE ARE GETTING A TOTAL OF 55% TARIFFS, CHINA IS GETTING 10%. RELATIONSHIP IS EXCELLENT! THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!”
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.