The Supreme Court granted the Trump Administration's request for an expedited hearing on the president's powers to impose tariffs on Tuesday.
$100 Million Tariff Hit
In a brief order on Tuesday, the justices granted review in Learning Resources v. Trump and Trump v. V.O.S. Selections, consolidating the lawsuits into a single, expedited proceeding.
At issue is whether the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act authorized Trump's use of executive orders to impose tariffs under the guise of national emergency declarations, according to a report by SCOTUSblog.
The lawsuits involve two family-owned businesses, Learning Resources and hand2mind, which say that they will be forced to pay $100 million in tariffs in 2025, 45 times what they paid in 2024.
The tariffs imposed by the Trump administration broadly fall into two categories. The first is the “trafficking tariffs” aimed at goods from Canada, China and Mexico, to curb the trafficking of fentanyl into the United States, followed by the “reciprocal tariffs” imposing a minimum 10% duty on all imports, going up to 50%, on nearly all U.S. trading partners.
The Supreme Court instructed both sides to file briefs over the coming weeks. Oral arguments will be held during the first week of its November 2025 session.
The outcome could significantly reshape the balance of power between Congress and the executive branch on matters of trade and national security.
Trump’s Possible Plan B
In May, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras ruled that the tariffs imposed by the administration exceeded Presidential authority under IEEPA, prompting an appeal.
In a separate ruling last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit struck down both categories of tariffs, saying that the President had overstepped his authority.
“The statute bestows significant authority on the President… but none of these actions explicitly include the power to impose tariffs, duties, or the like, or the power to tax,” the court said in a 7-4 decision.
Trump has had a string of favorable rulings from the Supreme Court in recent weeks. This includes allowing it to cancel hundreds of millions of dollars in National Institutes of Health grants tied to diversity, equity and inclusion programs, which were blocked by lower court orders.
Over two months ago, the court changed policies regarding how birthright citizenship policies can be challenged in court, resulting in a “monumental victory” for the administration.
However, no matter how things go down at the Supreme Court, experts believe the Trump administration has a backup plan, likely involving Section 122 of the Trade Act, that allows temporary tariffs lasting for 150 days in response to large trade deficits.
This should give the U.S. Trade Representative sufficient time to conduct investigations to impose longer-term tariffs under Section 301, which primarily targets unfair trade practices.
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