News / Dates to watch for in the latest chapter of TACO's tariff travail

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The whiplash continues. As expected, the White House won a reprieve in an appeals court, which allowed a temporary pause in the tariff ban while the appeal is heard. If the president loses, it will likely go to the Supreme Court.

In fact, if the pause had not been allowed, the White House said it would have sought immediate “emergency relief” at the Supreme Court. 

So, what are the key dates? The plaintiffs who brought the case, a group of 12 states and small US importers, must respond to the appeal by Friday 5 June, with a reply from the defendants due Monday 9 June. 

While the wheels of justice often turn slowly, the White House seems keen to expedite this process.

It said in its appeal that the judgment of the Court of International Trade (CIT) was “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”. It added: “The injunction unilaterally disarms the United States in the face of the longstanding predatory trade practices of other countries”.  

In the highly unlikely case of Mr Trump losing the appeal and not escalating the case to the Supreme Court, the White House then has 10 days to unwind the tariffs. It has also pledged to refund the plaintiffs, with interest, if the tariffs are held to be unlawful. 

If he ultimately loses, tariffs will likely remain in some form: under the Trade Act of 1974, the president is able to impose tariffs of 15% for up to 150 days on countries with which there is a big trade deficit.    

As yet, the steel, aluminium, and automotive tariffs have not been challenged, and remain. 

Meanwhile the president is said to have been stung by Wall Street’s new term for him: “TACO” (Trump Always Chickens Out). With this in mind, these are the provisional tariffs dates coming up: 

June 1: De minimis: postal handling fee for packages from China and Hong Kong imported to the US increases from $100 to $200 per parcel. 

June 5: plaintiffs’ response to appeal. 

June 9: White House response due to Court of Appeals. 

June 11: Commerce department to report new pharmaceuticals policy. 

June 16: comprehensive seafood strategy due. 

“At the end of June”: A 25% US tariff on all foreign-manufactured mobile phones

July 9: 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs ends – excluding China – with tariffs reverting to higher rates, between 11% and 50% for most countries, if no deal has been done. 

July 9: Trump to impose 50% tariffs on the EU. 

July 14: EU 90-day pause on retaliatory tariffs ends. 

August 10: China could reinstate 24% tariffs on US semi-conductors

August 12: tariffs on China revert to 34% (plus 20% fentanyl tariff). 

August 12: director of the Office of Management and Budget reports on impact of tariffs policy.