The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to quickly take up a case on President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging tariffs, setting up a major decision on one of the biggest policies of Trump’s second term, NBC News reported.
The Supreme Court will hear the case after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled late last month that Trump overstepped his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs on imports from dozens of countries. Last week, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to begin hearing arguments in the case as soon as November, arguing that the Appeals Court’s decision “gravely undermines the President’s ability to conduct real-world diplomacy and his ability to protect the national security and economy of the United States.”
The Supreme Court agreed to enter a streamlined process and will begin hearing oral arguments the first week of November.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned on Monday that if Trump’s tariffs are stopped, the United States would have to refund around $1 trillion to importers, a development that Bessent said would “cause significant disruption” to the U.S. economy. U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer agreed, saying, “With tariffs, we are a rich nation; without tariffs, we are a poor nation… The economic consequences would be ruinous.”
Trump also blasted the decision from the Appeals Court, arguing that “it would be a total disaster for the Country” if his tariffs were rescinded.
“If allowed to stand, this Decision would literally destroy the United States of America,” he added.
The Appeals Court delayed implementation of its order until October 14, giving the Trump administration time to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Many of Trump’s tariffs went into effect in early August before the the U.S. Court of Appeals stepped in and ruled that Trump does not have the authority to impose them. The Appeals Court ruled, “Absent a valid delegation by Congress, the President has no authority to impose taxes. Given these considerations, we conclude Congress, in enacting IEEPA, did not give the President wide-ranging authority to impose tariffs of the nature of the Trafficking and Reciprocal Tariffs simply by the use of the term ‘regulate … importation.’”
“The core Congressional power to impose taxes such as tariffs is vested exclusively in the legislative branch by the Constitution,” the court added.
The issue centers on the IEEPA, which was enacted in 1977 and allows the president to impose tariffs on any import to the United States after declaring a national emergency. On April 2, Trump “declared that foreign trade and economic practices have created a national emergency,” adding that he would impose “responsive tariffs to strengthen the international economic position of the United States and protect American workers.”
If Trump loses at the Supreme Court, his administration has been looking into other ways to impose tariffs, NBC News reported. Trump could rely on laws under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which gives the president power to levy some tariffs. Some of the president’s tariffs already in effect fall under this law and would not be affected by a Supreme Court decision shooting down Trump’s tariffs under the IEEPA.
