The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday to rescue President Trump’s tariffs invalidated by lower courts.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit struck down the bulk of Trump’s tariffs in a 7-4 decision last week, ruling the president can’t use emergency powers to justify levies imposed on dozens of trading partners.
“The Federal Circuit’s decision casts doubt upon the President’s most significant economic and foreign-affairs policy—a policy that implicates sensitive, ongoing foreign negotiations and urgent national-security concerns,” Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in the administration’s Supreme Court petition.
The petition has not yet been publicly docketed, but a copy was provided to The Hill by the plaintiffs.
Sauer urged the justices to expedite their consideration, asking for an announcement next Wednesday on whether the court will take up the dispute and schedule oral arguments for the first week of November.
The small businesses and Democratic-led states challenging the administration do not oppose the court taking up the case or the speedy schedule, court filings show. Trump’s tariffs will remain in place until the Supreme Court resolves the case.
Since retaking the White House, Trump has announced a series of significant tariffs on trading partners across the globe.
He has largely done so by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a 1977 law that authorizes the president to impose necessary economic sanctions during an emergency to combat an “unusual and extraordinary threat.” Trump is the first president to try to impose tariffs under the statute.
Citing an emergency over fentanyl, Trump has imposed a series of tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico dating back to February. He later invoked the law for his “Liberation Day” tariffs, citing an emergency over trade deficits to issue levies on goods from dozens of countries.
Trump’s tariffs face roughly a dozen lawsuits across the country. The battle at the Supreme Court comes in response to two underlying cases filed by a group of small businesses and Democratic state attorneys general.
“Both federal courts that considered the issue agreed that IEEPA does not give the President unchecked tariff authority,” Jeffrey Schwab, senior counsel at the Liberty Justice Center, who is part of the legal team representing the businesses, said in a statement.
“We are confident that our legal arguments against the so‑called ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs will ultimately prevail,” Schawb continued. “These unlawful tariffs are inflicting serious harm on small businesses and jeopardizing their survival. We hope for a prompt resolution of this case for our clients.”
The administration has pushed back by warning the courts of improperly second-guessing the president’s emergency findings and undermining his ability to use the tariffs as leverage in negotiating trade deals.
Last week’s Federal Circuit ruling upheld a May decision by the U.S. Court of International Trade invalidating the tariffs.
The administration’s Supreme Court appeal adds to an existing request for the justices to take up the legality of Trump’s tariffs by yet another group of businesses who are suing in a separate lawsuit.
The administration opposes the court getting involved in that case, and justices have already declined the businesses’ request to expedite consideration. Instead, the court will consider it in normal course at its closed-door conference on Sept. 29, court records show.
