During a Thursday interview, Vice President J.D. Vance noted that there is an “emergency” in the U.S. concerning crucial supply chains for drugs and other vital goods, which justifies President Donald Trump’s aggressive use of tariffs.
Vance discussed the issue during an interview with Newsmax TV’s Greg Kelly, following a federal trade court’s order to halt most of Trump’s tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), although a federal appeals court subsequently lifted the injunction.
The vice president said Trump, as president, generally has considerable discretion to protect American consumers, industries, and markets, and “we are in an emergency.”
“You have seen foreign governments, sometimes our adversaries, threaten the American people with the loss of critical supplies. I’m not talking about toys, plastic toys,” he said. “I’m talking about pharmaceutical ingredients.
“I’m talking about the critical pieces of the manufacturing supply chain. If these governments are threatening to cut us off from that stuff, that is, by definition, a national emergency. And in that national emergency,” presidents have broad trade and tariff authority, he said.
“The president has very broad discretions to engage in foreign policy to actually protect American consumers from foreign predators, from people who are trying to access our markets, dump into our markets, destroy American industries. The president has a lot of power to prevent that stuff from happening,” he noted further.
“Now, this court decision, I think, is really based on a legal technicality. And so, my second point is, the president also has broad discretion to deal with this stuff. So, even if you, somehow, had this legal technicality hold up in court, I think there are a lot of ways in which the president of the United States can protect American workers from these very, very unfair trade practices,” Vance continued.
“And I think it’s important, Greg, to say, okay, what does this mean for the American people? We believe, and we’re right, that we are in an emergency. You have seen foreign governments, sometimes our adversaries, threaten the American people with the loss of critical supplies,” Vance went on.
“I’m not talking about toys, plastic toys. I’m talking about pharmaceutical ingredients. I’m talking about the critical pieces of the manufacturing supply chain. If these governments are threatening to cut us off from that stuff, that is, by definition, a national emergency,” he added.
“And in that national emergency, the president has very broad discretion to fight back, to bring American industry back home, and to make American consumers protected and much safer. That’s all he’s trying to do. So, whatever this court has said, I think the president has the authority to do his job,” Vance said.
A federal appeals court has temporarily halted a ruling issued Wednesday night by the Court of International Trade that blocked Trump’s tariffs.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit reinstated Trump’s authority to impose tariffs under the emergency powers he invoked earlier this year. The court also directed both parties to submit written arguments on the issue of the tariff blockade, with filings due by early next month.
On Wednesday, the Court of International Trade ruled that President Trump lacked the authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose broad tariffs.
The Trump administration promptly appealed the decision, setting the stage for a legal showdown over an economic policy Trump claims will revitalize American manufacturing—but which critics warn could drive up costs for small businesses and consumers.
The appeals court issued a temporary pause on the ruling less than 24 hours later, CNN noted.
In a lengthy post on his Truth Social platform Thursday evening, Trump criticized the Court of International Trade’s ruling, arguing it weakens presidential authority by effectively requiring Congressional approval for his reciprocal tariffs.
He also urged the Supreme Court to intervene and overturn the decision.