Experts say the case is a tossup that poses difficult legal & political considerations for the justices, made all the more tense by Trump’s efforts to personalize the dispute.

#Trump had mused about attending the court’s argument this week, & has spoken repeatedly of the case’s importance to him. On Sunday, he said he decided against going to court, but stressed that he considered the stakes to be monumental.

#SCOTUS #law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #tariffs #economy

The case “is one of the most important in the history of the country,” #Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “If a president was not able to quickly & nimbly use the power of tariffs, we would be defenseless, leading perhaps even to the ruination of our nation.” 🙄

Observers of #SCOTUS said the justices would be keenly aware that Trump would perceive a legal defeat as a personal blow.

#law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #tariffs #economy

#SCOTUS’ 6 conservative justices have so far been receptive to Trump’s claims of #PresidentialPower. Among other things, they have allowed the admin to withhold funds appropriated by #Congress, kick #transgender troops out of the #military & pursue aggressive #immigration-related policies—but all on a “temporary”, “emergency” basis.

The #tariffs case is the first time the justices have weighed the underlying legal merits of a key admin priority in Trump’s 2nd term.

#law #ActivistCourt #economy

Other such cases are on the horizon. Next month, #SCOTUS will consider #Trump’s efforts to seize control of #independent agencies. And in January, the justices will weigh his attempt to remove a member of the #FederalReserve Board. The admin has also asked them to consider the legality of the president’s executive order ending #BirthrightCitizenship.

#law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #tariffs #economy

Jack Goldsmith, a Harvard Law School professor & former top #DOJ lawyer under George W. Bush, said that because the legal issues were so closely contested in the #tariffs matter, some justices could
weigh broader implications across the set of presidential cases, concerned about either handing #Trump too much #power — or too many defeats.

#SCOTUS #law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #economy

…In a sign that the court recognizes the importance of the #tariffs case, the justices set a brisk schedule for the parties to submit written briefs & present oral arguments. They now seem likely to rule swiftly rather than wait until the end of the term next summer, as is their usual practice for the most consequential decisions.

#SCOTUS #law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #Trump #economy

The case has divided the conservative legal community.

The #Constitution gives #Congress the power to impose #taxes. But soon after taking office, #Trump declared that a 1977 #law gave him the power to impose #tariffs unilaterally during “emergencies”.

#SCOTUS #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #economy

#Trump used the statute to announce tariffs on goods imported into the US from China, Canada & Mexico, saying the levies were a punishment for failing to stop the flow of fentanyl. In April, he again relied on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act [#IEEPA] when he announced #tariffs on imports from >100 trading partners, saying they were needed to address #trade deficits with the rest of the world.

#SCOTUS #law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #economy

The admin’s on-again, off-again taxes on imports have roiled small businesses, prompting lawsuits from state officials & 6 companies, including the wine importer V.O.S. Selections & the toy manufacturer Learning Resources, whose cases are before the court on Wednesday. Trump’s actions, they say, were unlawful, cut into their profits & forced them to lay off employees & raise prices.

#SCOTUS #Trump #law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #tariffs #economy

The 1977 statute gives the president certain tools to “deal with any unusual & extraordinary threat” to “the national security, foreign policy or economy of the United States.” That includes the power to “regulate” imports.

The president’s lawyers say that language gives him broad authority to impose #tariffs when he believes an emergency exists.

#SCOTUS #Trump #law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #economy

But the #law does not mention the words “tariffs,” “taxes” or “duties.” If the word “regulate” meant “tax,” the small businesses told the court, the president “could tax everything from autos to zoos.”

From the start, the admin has insisted that the consequences for the country are too significant for the court to resist #Trump.

#SCOTUS #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #tariffs #economy

They say that rolling back the #tariffs — & potentially refunding money already collected — could lead to economic ruin akin to the Great Depression, an interruption of #trade negotiations & diplomatic embarrassment. [so don’t break the law in the first place jackasses]

#SCOTUS #Trump #law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #economy

…But prominent legal figures opposed to the #tariffs, including retired federal judges and a founder of the conservative #FederalistSociety, said the case was not a close call. While past presidents have invoked the emergency statute to impose sanctions or to freeze a country’s assets, #Trump is the first in 50 years to rely on it to impose tariffs.

#SCOTUS #law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #economy

“Emergency powers are meant to be used in emergencies,” said Michael W. McConnell, a former federal appeals court judge nominated by President George W. Bush, who is leading the coalition of small businesses. “No Supreme Court would want to provoke a confrontation with a president of the United States unnecessarily, but on the other hand, the law is the law.”

#SCOTUS #Trump #law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #tariffs #economy

#Trump’s order argued that the #tariffs were needed as a response to “large & persistent” #trade deficits.

Tara Leigh Grove, a UT at Austin #law professor, said the justices could find it a stretch to characterize longstanding trade deficits as an emergency. On the other hand, she said, the statute is broad & appears to give a president a lot of discretion.

“The justices will be struggling with whether they want to second-guess any presidential decision about an emergency,” she said.

#SCOTUS

The case will also force the justices to address 2 doctrines favored by the conservative legal movement, both of which appear to work against #Trump’s claims. The “major questions doctrine” says #Congress must use clear language to authorize executive actions that could transform the #economy. #SCOTUS relied on the doctrine to invalidate many of President #Biden’s key initiatives, including his student loan forgiveness program.

#law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #tariffs

“Judges lack the institutional competence to determine when foreign affairs pose an unusual & extraordinary threat that requires an emergency response,” Sauer wrote in a court filing.

Sauer also pointed to a recent concurring opinion from Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh in another case that suggested the 2 doctrines play little to no role in the context of national security & foreign policy emergencies.

#SCOTUS #Trump #law #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #AbuseOfPower #tariffs #economy

The challenges to Trump’s #tariffs reached #SCOTUS after judges in 3 different lower courts ruled against the admin but allowed the import taxes to remain in effect while litigation continued.

In a 7-to-4 ruling in late August, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit said the emergency statute did not authorize “tariffs of the magnitude” #Trump announced.

“Whenever #Congress intends to delegate to the president the authority to impose tariffs, it does so explicitly,” the majority said…

Arguments are finally getting underway after a late start.

First up is Solicitor General D. John Sauer, Trump’s top Supreme Court lawyer, arguing for the #Trump admin.

The court has allotted 80 minutes for arguments, but they will almost certainly extend well into early afternoon.

#SCOTUS #tariffs #law

#ClarenceThomas first asks about the ‘major questions’ doctrine

The conservative majority blocked President Joe #Biden’s $500 billion student loan forgiveness plan & other of his administration’s initiatives by ruling that #Congress must speak clearly on questions of “vast economic & political significance.”

It’s not clear whether the justices will apply the same principle in the #tariffs case, but lower courts did.

Sauer says it doesn’t apply to foreign affairs issues.

#SCOTUS #law #economy