Trump takes tariffs fight to US Supreme Court

The Justice Department appealed an August 29 ruling by a federal appeals court that the president overstepped his authority in invoking the law known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, undercutting a major Trump priority in his second term.

The administration asked the court to fast track its review by deciding whether to take up the case by Sept. 10 and holding arguments in November. The court's new term begins on Oct. 6.

"The stakes in this case could not be higher," Solicitor General D. John Sauer said in a written filing.

"The President and his cabinet officials have determined that the tariffs are promoting peace and unprecedented economic prosperity, and that the denial of tariff authority would expose our nation to trade retaliation without effective defenses and thrust America back to the brink of economic catastrophe," Sauer added.

Lawyers for small businesses challenging the tariffs are not opposing the government's request for a Supreme Court hearing. One of the attorneys, Jeffrey Schwab of Liberty Justice Center, said in a statement they were confident they would prevail.

"These unlawful tariffs are inflicting serious harm on small businesses and jeopardizing their survival. We hope for a prompt resolution of this case for our clients," Schwab said.

The levies are part of a trade war instigated by Trump since he returned to the presidency in January that has alienated trading partners, increased volatility in financial markets and fueled global economic uncertainty.

Trump has made tariffs a pillar of U.S. foreign policy, using them to exert political pressure and renegotiate trade deals and extract concessions from countries that export goods to the United States.

The litigation concerns Trump's use of IEEPA to impose what Trump calls "reciprocal" tariffs to address trade deficits in April, as well as separate tariffs announced in February as economic leverage on China, Canada and Mexico to curb the trafficking of fentanyl and illicit drugs into the U.S.

IEEPA gives the president power to deal with "an unusual and extraordinary threat" amid a national emergency and had historically been used for imposing sanctions on enemies or freezing their assets. Prior to Trump, the law had never been used to impose tariffs.

Trump's Department of Justice has argued that the law allows tariffs under emergency provisions that authorize a president to "regulate" imports or block them completely.

The appeals court ruling stems from two challenges, one brought by five small businesses that import goods, including a New York wine and spirits importer and a Pennsylvania-based sport fishing retailer. The other was filed by 12 U.S. states - Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Vermont - most of them governed by Democrats.

The Constitution grants Congress, not the president, the authority to issue taxes and tariffs, and any delegation of that authority must be both explicit and limited, according to the lawsuits.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, D.C., agreed, ruling that the president's power to regulate imports under the law does not include the power to impose tariffs.

"It seems unlikely that Congress intended, in enacting IEEPA, to depart from its past practice and grant the President unlimited authority to impose tariffs," the appeals court said in its 7-4 decision.

The appeals court also said that the administration's expansive view of IEEPA violates the Supreme Court's "major questions" doctrine, which requires executive branch actions of vast economic and political significance to be clearly authorized by Congress.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in a declaration filed with the Justice Department's appeal, urged the Supreme Court to move quickly, asserting that the appeals court's decision undermines Trump's ability to "conduct real-world diplomacy and his ability to protect the national security and economy of the United States."

The New York-based U.S. Court of International Trade, which has jurisdiction over customs and trade disputes, previously ruled against Trump's tariff policies on May 28.

Another court in Washington ruled that IEEPA does not authorize Trump's tariffs, and the government has appealed that decision as well. At least eight lawsuits have challenged Trump's tariff policies, including one filed by the state of California.