Supreme Court to decide fate of Trump’s sweeping tariffs
Small businesses and states asked the Supreme Court on Monday to uphold lower court rulings blocking President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imported goods. The legal challengers argued the levies represent the largest peacetime tax increase in American history.
Trump issued executive orders beginning in February that imposed tariffs on nearly all countries. He cited the International Emergency Economic Powers Act as legal authority. Federal judges ruled the law does not grant presidents the power to impose tariffs without explicit congressional approval.
The challengers told the justices that Congress alone has the taxing authority under the Constitution. They said the word “regulate” does not mean “tax” in hundreds of federal statutes. The Trump administration argued tariffs qualify as legitimate import regulation under emergency powers.
The Supreme Court agreed in September to hear arguments in November after fast-tracking the cases.
