Commerce secretary says ‘tariffs are not going away’ as Trump’s trade plans face legal battles

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday that “tariffs are not going away” after a US appeals court paused a block on many of the Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday that “tariffs are not going away” after a federal appeals court last week paused a block on many of the Trump administration’s sweeping tariffs. President Donald Trump “has so many other authorities that even in the weird and unusual circumstance where this was taken away, we just bring on another or another or another,” Lutnick said on “Fox News Sunday.” The Court of International Trade on Wednesday blocked the bulk of Trump’s global tariffs, ruling that the president did not have “unbounded authority” to impose tariffs, only for the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to pause the block and restore the levies the next day. Trump’s ever-changing trade strategy, which has included pausing some tariffs to create more time to negotiate, may face bargaining challenges with countries after the trade court ruled the president exceeded his authority by imposing across-the-board duties under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. When asked about a European Union official who told Reuters the court decision gave the EU “extra leverage” in trade talks, Lutnick said, “It cost us maybe a week.” Trump recently threatened, and then delayed until July 9, a 50% tariff on the EU. Lutnick said that since the court ruling, “everybody came right back to the table. Everybody’s talking to us. You’re going to see, over the next couple of weeks, first-class deals for the American worker.” The 90-day pause for Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, which imposed sweeping tariffs on more than 100 countries, is soon set to expire as the administration continues to push negotiations. There won’t be an extension to that pause, Lutnick said Sunday.