WASHINGTON (AP) — The President donald trump’s authority to impose unilaterally extensive tariffs It will go before the Supreme Court on Wednesday in a pivotal test of executive power with trillions of dollars in impact on the global economy.
Republican administration seeks to defend tariffs, a centerpiece of President Trump’s economic policy, following lower court ruling the emergency law he invoked It does not give him nearly unlimited power to set and change import tariffs.
The Constitution provides that Congress has the power to impose tariffs. But the Trump administration maintains that in an emergency, the president can regulate import taxes like tariffs. President Trump called the case one of the most important in the nation’s history and said the verdict against him would be: devastating to the economy.
The challengers argue that the 1977 Emergency Powers Act used by President Trump does not even mention tariffs, and that no president has ever used the law to impose tariffs. A collection of small and medium-sized businesses says they are at risk of bankruptcy due to the uncertainty.
case The focus is on two price sets. The first one came in February Imported from CanadaChina and Mexico after President Trump declared a national emergency over drug trafficking. The second concerns broad “reciprocal” tariffs against most countries that President Trump announced in April.
Multiple lawsuits have been filed over the tariffs, and the court will hear cases brought by Democratic-leaning states and small businesses focused on everything from plumbing supplies to equipment. Women’s cycling apparel.
Lower courts have struck down most of his tariffs as illegal uses of emergency power, but the country’s highest court may take a different view.
During his first term, Trump nominated three justices and helped create a conservative-majority court. Judges have so far been reluctant to check his unusually flexible executive powers, awarding him a series of victories in the emergency docket.
Still, these are short-term orders, and most of Mr. Trump’s broad conservative policies have not been fully discussed by the nation’s highest court. That means the outcome could set the tone for a broader legal backlash against his policies.
Judges have previously been skeptical of claims of executive power. then president joe biden It sought to forgive $400 billion in student loans under a separate law addressing the national emergency. supreme court It found that the law did not explicitly authorize him to enact a program with such a large economic impact, a legal principle known as the critical issues doctrine.
Challengers say President Trump’s tariffs should receive similar treatment. That’s because it would have a far greater economic impact, raising about $3 trillion over the next 10 years. The government, on the other hand, argues that tariffs are different because they are an important part of the trade. his approach to foreign affairsthis is an area where courts should not second-guess the president.
The challengers are also trying to change conservative justices’ skepticism about whether the Constitution allows other parts of the government to exercise powers reserved to Congress, a concept known as the nondelegation doctrine. Trump’s interpretation of the law could mean anyone who can “regulate” can tax it, they say.
The Justice Department counters that the legal doctrine is for government agencies, not for presidents.
If he ultimately loses in the high court, Trump could impose tariffs under other laws, but those laws have further limits on the speed and severity of his actions. The fallout from his ruling could also be complicated if the government is forced to repay the tariffs, which collected $195 billion in revenue as of September.
The Trump administration won the support of four appellate court judges who found that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA) gives the president the authority to regulate imports during emergencies without explicit restrictions. In recent decades, Congress has ceded some tariff authority to the president, and Mr. Trump has taken full advantage of the power vacuum.
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