Policies & IssuesSep 24, 2025
For Jewelry Manufacturers, Higher Tariffs Create Long-Term WorriesPolicies & IssuesNov 04, 2025
Supreme Court to Hear Tariffs Case Wednesday
Ahead of the hearing, two industry organizations co-signed an amicus brief urging the court to declare Trump’s tariffs unlawful.
On Wednesday morning, the Supreme Court is slated to hear oral arguments in the case involving the legality of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
New York—On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the validity of the sweeping tariffs President Donald Trump imposed earlier this year, a case that has major implications for the jewelry and watch industries.
The case will center on whether the president has the authority to impose wide-ranging, long-term tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a 1977 law intended for national emergencies that Trump has repeatedly invoked in issuing a series of executive orders imposing tariffs.
The arguments the Supreme Court will hear relate to two cases brought in lower courts.
One was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by two small toy-making companies, and another was brought in the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) by a group of small businesses, which previously was combined with a separate suit 12 states filed in the CIT.
The judge in the toy makers’ case ruled in their favor but put the decision on hold while the government appealed.
The CIT also ruled in favor of the small businesses and the states; the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (which hears appeals from the CIT) put the CIT’s ruling on hold while the government appealed.
According to SCOTUSblog.com, an independent news site that tracks the court, the scheduled time for the oral arguments in the tariffs case has been expanded from the normal 60 minutes to 80 minutes.
They are set for 10 a.m. EST.
Jewelers Vigilance Committee President, CEO, and General Counsel Sara Yood previously said decisions in cases the court hears in November can be issued as early as January, though it could take until June.
However, the fact that the court fast-tracked the case at Trump’s request could suggest it is prepared to “act expeditiously,” according to SCOTUS blog.
The tariffs will remain in place pending the Supreme Court’s ruling.
While the tariffs case is still being debated in the courts, the Trump administration announced that it has reached deals, or frameworks for deals, with a number of Asian countries following the president’s recent tour of the continent.
Key among them is Saturday’s announcement that the administration has reached a trade deal with China.
The deal will, among other things, half the tariff rate related to trade in fentanyl precursor drugs, according to Reuters, bringing the overall tariff on Chinese imports down from 57 percent to 47 percent.
The administration also announced agreements with Malaysia and Cambodia, and frameworks for deals to establish new rates on imports from Thailand and Vietnam, all of which keep the reciprocal tariff rate on the countries at 19 percent (Malaysia, Cambodia, and Thailand) to 20 percent (Vietnam).
Related stories will be right here …
The case will center on whether the president has the authority to impose wide-ranging, long-term tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a 1977 law intended for national emergencies that Trump has repeatedly invoked in issuing a series of executive orders imposing tariffs.
The arguments the Supreme Court will hear relate to two cases brought in lower courts.
One was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by two small toy-making companies, and another was brought in the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) by a group of small businesses, which previously was combined with a separate suit 12 states filed in the CIT.
The judge in the toy makers’ case ruled in their favor but put the decision on hold while the government appealed.
The CIT also ruled in favor of the small businesses and the states; the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (which hears appeals from the CIT) put the CIT’s ruling on hold while the government appealed.
According to SCOTUSblog.com, an independent news site that tracks the court, the scheduled time for the oral arguments in the tariffs case has been expanded from the normal 60 minutes to 80 minutes.
They are set for 10 a.m. EST.
Jewelers Vigilance Committee President, CEO, and General Counsel Sara Yood previously said decisions in cases the court hears in November can be issued as early as January, though it could take until June.
However, the fact that the court fast-tracked the case at Trump’s request could suggest it is prepared to “act expeditiously,” according to SCOTUS blog.
The tariffs will remain in place pending the Supreme Court’s ruling.
While the tariffs case is still being debated in the courts, the Trump administration announced that it has reached deals, or frameworks for deals, with a number of Asian countries following the president’s recent tour of the continent.
Key among them is Saturday’s announcement that the administration has reached a trade deal with China.
The deal will, among other things, half the tariff rate related to trade in fentanyl precursor drugs, according to Reuters, bringing the overall tariff on Chinese imports down from 57 percent to 47 percent.
The administration also announced agreements with Malaysia and Cambodia, and frameworks for deals to establish new rates on imports from Thailand and Vietnam, all of which keep the reciprocal tariff rate on the countries at 19 percent (Malaysia, Cambodia, and Thailand) to 20 percent (Vietnam).
Ahead of Wednesday’s arguments in front of the Supreme Court, the American Watch Association (AWA) filed an amicus brief, dated Oct. 24, urging the court to declare the tariffs unlawful.
The JVC co-signed the brief.
Amicus briefs are filed with courts by companies or individuals who are not party to a case but have a vested interest in its outcome.
It was submitted by the AWA’s counsel at Washington D.C.-based law firm Covington & Burling LLP.
In the brief, the organizations explain why tariffs—particularly the reciprocal tariffs on Switzerland (39 percent) and Japan (15 percent), countries that produce specialized precision components—are harmful to the U.S. watch industry.
It asserts that the volatility in tariff rates thus far has made business planning difficult, especially for small businesses, which are less likely to have resources to adapt to frequent changes and are at a higher risk of unintentional non-compliance.
The brief also notes that while the president’s rationale for imposing the tariffs is the “lack of reciprocity,” any trade imbalances that exist have nothing to do with watches.
“As to Switzerland in particular, any perceived imbalance in the bilateral trade relationship is not the result of the watch industry but instead of other industries, including pharmaceuticals—which, unusually, the president exempted from the tariffs.”
In addition, the brief asserts that the tariffs will eliminate jobs, raise costs for consumers, and push shoppers to make purchases abroad.
The organizations also argue there is no domestic substitutes for Swiss and Japanese watch components at “the necessary commercial scale in the United States, nor is there any realistic prospect of generating the capabilities necessary to manufacture them in America.”
“Assuming some manufacturers were otherwise willing to undertake the billions of dollars in investment necessary to generate industrial watchmaking capacity [in the U.S.], it would likely take a decade or more (from site selection to production part approval) before any sort of manufacturing capability could exist, let alone for such an investment to generate a positive return,” the brief states.
AWA declined any additional comment on the brief.
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