Trump officials downplay court ruling blocking sweeping tariffs

Senior Trump administration officials on Thursday downplayed the impact of a US trade court ruling that blocked the most sweeping of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, expressing confidence it would be overturned on appeal and insisting there are other legal avenues to employ in the interim.

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Financial markets, which have whipsawed wildly in response to every twist and turn in Trump’s chaotic trade war, reacted with cautious optimism on Thursday, a day after the US Court of International Trade ruled that Trump overstepped his authority in imposing punitive tariffs on virtually every country in the world.

But analysts said broad uncertainty remained regarding the future of Trump’s tariffs, which have cost companies more than $34 billion in lost sales and high costs, according to a Reuters analysis.

Meanwhile, a second US court issued a preliminary ruling against the tariffs on Thursday, temporarily blocking them from going into effect in a case brought by educational toy maker Learning Resources.

Trump has put tariffs at the center of his effort to extract concessions from US trading partners, including traditional allies such as the EU.

White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett expressed confidence that the ruling would ultimately be reversed in an interview with Fox Business Network on Thursday. He also said it would not get in the way of signing new trade deals.

‘Will revoke visas to Chinese’

Chinese students studying in the US are scrambling to figure out their futures after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Wednesday that some students would have their visas revoked.

The US will begin revoking the visas of some Chinese students, including those studying in “critical fields”, and “those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party,” according to the announcement.

China is the second-largest country of origin for international students in the United States, behind only India.

‘Blocking order barring Harvard International intake’

A federal judge said on Wednesday that she would issue an order that would continue to block the Trump administration from immediately revoking Harvard University’s ability to enrol international students. Judge Allison Burroughs in Boston said she would issue a broad preliminary injunction shortly after the administration revealed it plans to pursue a lengthier process to block enrolment.