Conservative Supreme Court justices appear skeptical of Trump’s sweeping unilateral tariffs

WASHINGTON AP Key Supreme Court conservatives seemed skeptical Wednesday that President Donald Trump has the power to unilaterally impose far-reaching tariffs potentially putting at threat a key part of his agenda in the biggest legal test yet of his unprecedented presidency The Republican administration is trying to defend the tariffs central to Trump s economic agenda after lower courts ruled the emergency law he invoked doesn t give him near-limitless power to set and change duties on imports The Constitution says Congress has the power to levy tariffs But the Trump administration argues that in exigency situations the president can regulate importation and that includes tariffs Justice Amy Coney Barrett grilled the establishment on that point Has there ever been another instance in which a statute has used that language to confer the power she questioned Justice Neil Gorsuch also questioned whether Trump s position would hand too much congressional power to the president Is the constitutional assignment of the taxing power to Congress the power to reach into the pockets of the American people just different he solicited And it s been different since the founding Questions from Chief Justice John Roberts also suggested he might not be convinced With the court s three liberal-leaning justices seeming deeply dubious the tariffs challengers could win by swaying two conservatives A decision in the affair could take weeks or months Trump has called the episode one of the majority critical in the country s history and noted a ruling against him would be catastrophic for the financial system The challengers argue the exigency powers law Trump used doesn t even mention tariffs and no president before has used it to impose them A collection of small businesses say the uncertainty is driving them to the brink of bankruptcy The incident centers on two sets of tariffs The first came in February on imports from Canada China and Mexico after Trump declared a national crisis over drug trafficking The second involves the sweeping reciprocal tariffs on preponderance countries that Trump broadcasted in April Multiple lawsuits have been filed over the tariffs and the court will hear suits filed by Democratic-leaning states and small businesses focused on everything from plumbing supplies to women s cycling apparel Lower courts have struck down the bulk of Trump s tariffs as an illegal use of exigency power but the nation s highest court may see it differently Trump helped shape the conservative majority court naming three of the nine justices in his first term The justices have so far been reluctant to check his extraordinary flex of executive power handing him a series of wins on the court s crisis docket Still those have been short-term orders little of Trump s wide-ranging conservative agenda has been fully argued before the nation s highest court That means the outcome could set the tone for wider legal pushback against his policies The justices have been skeptical of executive power asserts before such as when then-President Joe Biden tried to forgive billion in learner loans under a different law dealing with national emergencies The Supreme Court located the law didn t clearly give him the power to enact a undertaking with such a big economic impact a legal principle known as the major questions doctrine The challengers say Trump s tariffs should get the same remedy since they ll have a much greater economic effect raising specific trillion over the next decade The regime on the other hand says the tariffs are different because they re a major part of his approach to foreign affairs an area where the courts should not be second-guessing the president The challengers are also trying to channel the conservative justices skepticism about whether the Constitution allows other parts of the administration to use powers reserved for Congress a concept known as the nondelegation doctrine Trump s interpretation of the law could mean anyone who can regulate can also impose taxes they say The Justice Department counters that legal principle is for governmental agencies not for the president If he eventually loses at the high court Trump could impose tariffs under other laws but those have more limitations on the speed and severity with which he could act The aftermath of a ruling against him also could be complicated if the cabinet must issue refunds for the tariffs that had collected billion in revenue as of September The Trump administration did win over four appeals court judges who exposed the International Urgency Economic Powers Act or IEEPA gives the president authority to regulate importation during emergencies without explicit limitations In newest decades Congress has ceded particular tariff authority to the president and Trump has made the the bulk of the power vacuum