Supreme Court to consider Pres. Trump’s power to impose tariffs

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - Wednesday, the Supreme Court will consider whether President Donald Trump has the legal authority to impose tariffs on every one of America’s trading partners. It’s considered a landmark case that could determine the future of his economic agenda.

The high court must decide whether a tariff is essentially a tax on imported goods. That ties directly to whether giving the president this tariff power violates Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, which assigns Congress the job to set and collect taxes and duties.

The Trump administration argues in legal briefs that the Supreme Court should back the president’s tariffs and overturn rulings by two lower courts that struck them down.

“I think it’s one of the most important decisions we’ll ever have for the Supreme Court,” Trump said. “With tariffs, we’re a strong sound country. We’re a nationally secure and internationally secure country. And we’re a very rich country.”

The Solicitor General warned that if the Court strikes down the tariffs, there will be “catastrophic consequences for America’s national security, foreign policy and the economy.”

Professor Michele Goodwin is professor of constitutional law at Georgetown University

“It’s a very important case as it relates to presidential power. And the president having lost at the district court level and in one court of appeal with trying to use a law from 1977 to apply to his ability to be able to impose tariffs, as he has.”

In imposing what the White House calls “reciprocal tariffs,” the administration is relying on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. That 1977 law that allows presidents to impose sanctions after declaring a national emergency.

No previous president, including Trump during his first term, has ever invoked that law to unilaterally impose tariffs.

“If we’re actually looking at text, if we’re looking at any kind of original intent, there’s nothing within this legislation that would suggest that the president could wield this type of authority even in a time of emergency,” said Michele Goodwin, professor of constitutional law at Georgetown University.

American businesses have paid more than $100 billion to cover the tariffs being challenged. Trump has said that if the Supreme Court rules against him, the U.S. would have to pay back and reimburse thousands of companies for the billions of dollars in tariffs they’ve already paid.

This is the first of several Supreme Court cases concerning presidential power for the 2025-2026 term.