US appeals court temporarily allows Trump to impose tariffs

A US federal appeals court has temporarily allowed President Donald Trump to continue imposing import tariffs, the Associated Press reports.

The court allowed Trump to impose tariffs under the Emergency Powers Act.

The court granted the White House's emergency request, arguing that staying the first-instance decision was "critically important to the country's national security."

An appeals court temporarily blocked a Federal Trade Commission order issued the day before that had blocked Trump from imposing some of his highest tariffs on China and other U.S. trading partners, ruling that federal law does not give him "unfettered authority" to tax imports from nearly every country in the world.

UPDATED. According to the court's decision, the plaintiffs must respond no later than June 5, and the US government must respond by June 9. The plaintiffs in the case are 12 states.

• On April 2, Trump imposed high tariffs on foreign goods from almost every country in the world, although Russia was not on the list.
• This led to the US stock market losing about $6.6 trillion between April 3 and 4. This was the largest two-day collapse in its history.