The tariff relief was short-lived.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Thursday granted a request from President Donald Trump’s administration to temporarily halt a ruling from a different court the day before that had voided most of the tariffs that the White House had implemented in 2025.

On May 28, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of International Trade struck down many of the Trump tariffs, ruling that the president exceeded his legal authority in imposing the levies.

The Trump administration swiftly appealed. “This Court should immediately stay that judgment, which is rife with legal error and upends President Trump’s efforts to eliminate our exploding trade deficit and reorient the global economy on an equal footing,” the Justice Department wrote in its appeal.

The Federal Circuit on May 29 then granted the White House’s request to pause the Court of International Trade’s ruling until at least such time as the appeal is adjudicated. The trade court’s ruling is “stayed until further notice,” the appeals court ordered, meaning the tariffs that had been voided are again enforceable for the time being.

The plaintiffs, which include a handful of small businesses, that had brought the case against tariffs to the Court of International Trade have until June 5 to respond with arguments. The administration may file a single, consolidated reply no later than June 9, 2025.

In another separate case, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras issued an order that prevents the Trump administration from collecting tariffs from two businesses, Learning Resources Inc. and hand2mind Inc., which had sued the administration over its levies. That order doesn’t go into effect for two weeks though, allowing the White House time to appeal.

Contreras granted the limited injunction on legal grounds similar to the Court of International Trade, saying that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA) that Trump invoked as the legal foundation for many of his 2025 tariffs does not grant him, or any president, the authority to institute such sweeping duties.

“In the five decades since IEEPA was enacted, no President until now has ever invoked the statute…to impose tariffs,” Contreras wrote.

“Tariffs aren’t going anywhere. They’re something we're going to have to get used to for a long time, which is unfortunate.” Joseph Sommer, Whitestone (asi/359741)

The U.S. Court of International Trade’s ruling had barred enforcement of: the 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports not covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement; the cumulative 30% additional tariff put on China-made imports this year (it had been as high as 145% prior to a suspension of that rate); the 10% baseline tariff rate on imports from all countries; and the currently paused reciprocal/nation-specific tariffs that Trump placed on particular countries based on duties and alleged trade barriers they have against the United States. Canadian/Mexican goods covered by USMCA were not subject to levies.

Given the Federal Circuit’s Thursday ruling, those tariffs are now back on the books. Trump’s elimination of the de minimis exemption for products made in China and Hong Kong is also allowed to continue under the Federal Circuit’s stay, analysts said. Prior to Trump’s order nixing this practice, the exemption had allowed products from China and Hong Kong with a retail value of $800 or less and that are imported by one person in one day to enter the United States tariff-free. The elimination of the de minimis exemption is facing a court challenge from a Michigan business.

The trade court’s ruling did not impact various other tariffs, including Section 301 duties Trump imposed during his first presidential term and tariffs enacted under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. As such, the 25% tariff on steel and aluminum products, which affects categories like drinkware in the promotional products industry, were already still in place prior to the Federal Circuit’s stay, as were duties on automotive imports, among other tariffs.

Promo Presses Forward

The various tariffs and uncertainty related to them have hurt sales and driven up pricing in the promotional products industry, while also affecting importing and sourcing strategies and raising worries about inventory shortages.

Promo pros late on May 28 and early on May 29 had generally expressed satisfaction with the international trade court’s kiboshing of the tariffs, but most asserted that ample uncertainty remained because of how things might play out in the courts. As such, they weren’t immediately planning any significant changes to how they do business. Their caution proved prescient, with the tariff voiding lasting less than 24 hours.

“Tariffs aren’t going anywhere,” Joseph Sommer, CEO of Counselor Best Place to Work Whitestone (asi/359741), told ASI Media. “They’re something we're going to have to get used to for a long time, which is unfortunate.”

Regardless of how current court cases unfold, the Trump administration could potentially pull other legal levers to press forward its tariff agenda.

Goldman Sachs said in a note to clients the administration could look to leverage Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, Section 301 investigations and Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930. Section 122 doesn’t require a formal investigation before tariffs could be advanced, analysts said.

“The administration could quickly replace the 10% across-the-board tariff with a similar tariff of up to 15% under Sec. 122,” Goldman Sachs’ analysts stated, adding that such an initiative could only last up to 150 days before requiring congressional action.

The tariff ping-ponging in the courts, plus the perpetual uncertainty over just what will ultimately occur, is complicating commerce in the promo space.  “It’s a real pain with the inconsistency of the ups and downs,” said Trevor Gnesin, CEO of Counselor Top 40 supplier Logomark (asi/67866) and a member of Counselor’s Power 50 list of promo’s most influential people. “It is causing havoc trying to buy product not knowing what the goods will land at. We just paid out a million dollars on goods that we released this week. I am assuming the Trump administration won’t let go on tariffs so it has now become a very strategic game of how to plan one’s inventory.”

ASI Research shows 60% of suppliers had increased prices, primarily as a result of tariffs, as of early May. Still, suppliers emphasized they’re working diligently to mitigate price hikes and other disruptions. For instance: Chris Anderson, CEO of Counselor Top 40 supplier HPG, said the firm prebought ample inventory of imported components to get through the near term. That’s empowered HPG to hold standard pricing for now.

“Should elevated tariffs persist, there will be upward pressure on pricing for virtually every company operating in America,” said Anderson, a Power 50 member. “However, as HPG is both an importer and manufacturer (depending on the category), the ultimate impact of tariffs as a percentage increase to our selling price will be appreciably less than the headline tariff percentage.”