Trump will seek apex court’s nod for US tariffs, but key battle awaits

US President Donald Trump is set to imminently ask the conservative-majority Supreme Court to validate his broad emergency tariffs after two setbacks at lower courts, but will face tough legal questions as his administration presses ahead with backup plans.

- Reuters

Legal and trade experts said that the Supreme Court's 6-3 majority of Republican-appointed justices may slightly improve Trump's odds of keeping in place his “reciprocal” and fentanyl-related tariffs after a federal appeals court ruled 7-4 last week that they are illegal.

Trump said on Tuesday that his administration would seek as early as Wednesday an expedited ruling by the Supreme Court “because we need an early decision.” He warned of “devastation” if the duties he imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) are struck down.

The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit agreed on Friday with a lower court in finding that IEEPA does not grant the president unlimited authority to impose tariffs and the 1977 statute does not mention the term among regulatory powers it allows in’a national emergency.

The ruling marked a rare setback for Trump, who has sought to reorder the global economy in the U.S.’s favor with tariffs by declaring a national emergency over decades of trade deficits. Trump won a string of Supreme Court victories since returning to office, from allowing deportation of migrants to permitting a ban on transgender people in the military.

Top administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, say they expect the Supreme Court to uphold the use of IEEPA to justify tariffs, but will turn to other legal means if needed. The tariffs will remain in place at least through October 14 to allow time for the government to file the Supreme Court appeal.

Doctrine questions