Policies & IssuesAug 21, 2025
JA, IDMA Talk Tariffs With Execs in DC Policies & IssuesSep 05, 2025
Trump Takes Tariffs Case to the Supreme Court
Two lower courts have moved to block the import taxes, which will remain in place as the legal battle continues.
On Thursday, the Trump administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the case involving his tariffs, which have been declared invalid by two lower courts.
Washington, D.C.—President Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to review a ruling handed down last week by a lower court that his sweeping slate of tariffs imposed using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) are illegal.
In filings docketed on the Supreme Court’s website Thursday, Solicitor General D. John Sauer requested the court move swiftly, asking it to decide by Sept. 10—next Wednesday—if it will hear the case and for oral arguments to take place the first week in November.
In asking for an expedited review, Sauer wrote that the lower court’s “erroneous decision” has disrupted ongoing trade negotiations and “cast a pall of legal uncertainty over the president’s efforts to protect our country by preventing an unprecedented economic and foreign policy crisis.”
The request follows a decision handed down last week by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which took up the case after the Trump administration appealed a May decision by the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT).
In a 7-4 ruling issued Aug. 29, the appeals court affirmed what the CIT ruled in May—that Trump overstepped his authority in invoking the IEEPA to impose tariffs.
In a message posted to Truth Social the same day, Trump reacted, writing that the removal of the tariffs would be a “total disaster” for the country, and that tariffs are the best tool to help American workers and support “Made in America” products.
“For many years, Tariffs were allowed to be used against us by our uncaring and unwise Politicians,” he wrote.
“Now, with the help of the United States Supreme Court, we will use them to the benefit of our Nation, and Make America Rich, Strong, and Powerful Again!”
Related stories will be right here …
In filings docketed on the Supreme Court’s website Thursday, Solicitor General D. John Sauer requested the court move swiftly, asking it to decide by Sept. 10—next Wednesday—if it will hear the case and for oral arguments to take place the first week in November.
In asking for an expedited review, Sauer wrote that the lower court’s “erroneous decision” has disrupted ongoing trade negotiations and “cast a pall of legal uncertainty over the president’s efforts to protect our country by preventing an unprecedented economic and foreign policy crisis.”
The request follows a decision handed down last week by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which took up the case after the Trump administration appealed a May decision by the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT).
In a 7-4 ruling issued Aug. 29, the appeals court affirmed what the CIT ruled in May—that Trump overstepped his authority in invoking the IEEPA to impose tariffs.
In a message posted to Truth Social the same day, Trump reacted, writing that the removal of the tariffs would be a “total disaster” for the country, and that tariffs are the best tool to help American workers and support “Made in America” products.
“For many years, Tariffs were allowed to be used against us by our uncaring and unwise Politicians,” he wrote.
“Now, with the help of the United States Supreme Court, we will use them to the benefit of our Nation, and Make America Rich, Strong, and Powerful Again!”
The court battle over tariffs began in April, when five small businesses, including lead plaintiff V.O.S. Selections Inc., a family-run wine importer, sued the Trump administration. A separate suit by 12 states, led by Oregon, followed.
The CIT, which has jurisdiction over civil actions that involve U.S. customs and trade law, consolidated the two cases into one.
In May, the court sided with the businesses and states, declaring the tariffs invalid and writing in its ruling that the IEEPA does not give the president “unbounded authority” to “impose unlimited tariffs on goods from nearly every country in the world.”
Less than 24 hours after the ruling, the Trump administration appealed the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which halted the CIT’s ban on Trump’s tariffs while it considered the case.
Though it sided with the CIT in its ruling, the appeals court did allow the tariffs to remain place until Oct. 14, giving the Trump administration time to take the case to the Supreme Court.
In an email to National Jeweler, Jewelers Vigilance Committee President, CEO, and General Counsel Sara Yood said the Supreme Court appeal will further delay resolution of the tariffs issue, though she did note that the rulings of the two lower courts “gives hope for a favorable SCOTUS outcome.”
She said if the IEEPA tariffs are overturned by the Supreme Court, the government could be required to provide refunds.
She advised businesses to keep “complete, detailed records” of tariffs they have paid.
In the meantime, Yood noted that the IEEPA tariffs, as well as any tariffs initiated under other laws, such as the Section 301 China tariffs from the first Trump administration, remain in place.
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