President Trump will have a comprehensive tariff agenda Dissected by Supreme Court on Wednesday as his administration seeks to justify its global trade overhaul by pointing to emergency powers.
it marks High Court for the first time The bench will be appointed to weigh on the merits an essential element of Trump’s second term agenda.
Trump has said the case is the most important case heard by the high court. Depending on the outcome, the justices could either keep in place or undo key Trump policy agenda items, which have had a knock-on effect on economies around the world.
“Tomorrow’s United States Supreme Court case is literally life or death for our country,” Trump said Tuesday. true social,
At the heart of the matter is an unused expansion of executive power: Trump’s invocation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) in imposing tariffs on countries around the world.
The 1977 law empowers the President to impose necessary economic sanctions during an emergency. But it has never been used to impose tariffs — and small businesses and Democratic-led states challenging the president’s move argue that it should never have happened.
“I don’t understand why anyone would oppose what I’m doing,” Learning Resources CEO Rick Woldenberg said in an interview. “We’re opposed to a tax. Isn’t that something every American agrees with?”
Since retaking office, the conservative-majority Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled in Trump’s favor. But all of those cases involved emergency appeals, and Wednesday marks the first time the justices are considering one of Trump’s second-term policies within their usual scope.
Lower courts invalidated Trump’s tariffs but allowed them to remain in place until their legality could be resolved. The President has warned the Supreme Court that a decision against him would cause economic ruin and turn the United States into a third world country.
Treasury Secretary Scott Besant is expected to attend the debate, telling Fox News’ “Jesse Waters Primetime” that he hopes to “sit front row and get a ringside seat.” Small business CEOs and three state Democratic attorneys general also plan to attend.
Trump invoked IEEPA in large part to justify his sweeping tariff agenda, which sparked a selloff in stocks this spring and continues to stoke market uncertainty.
The statute grants the President the authority to “regulate” imports in response to national emergencies that pose an “unusual and extraordinary threat.” Trump has declared a state of emergency on fentanyl, imposing tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico and increasing trade deficits to impose his global tariffs on dozens of trading partners.
Challengers argue that Congress never intended the statute to authorize tariffs and that Trump’s emergency declaration is invalid. Challengers say accepting Trump’s position would make the law unconstitutional.
The Justice Department claims the law supports Trump’s sweeping actions and that judges have no authority to doubt the president’s emergency findings.
“Plaintiffs are seeking a decision from this Court that effectively disarms the President in the highly competitive arena of international trade,” the Justice Department wrote in court filings.
