Businesses press Supreme Court to strike down Donald Trump’s emergency tariff power

"The ruling is going to be fundamental and foundational for the president's agenda going forward," said Everett Eissenstat, a lawyer at Squire Patton Boggs and former Trump economic official. Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images/Postmedia files

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Businesses, lawmakers and former United States officials are pressing the U.S. Supreme Court to rule against Donald Trump’s use of emergency tariff powers ahead of a showpiece hearing this week.

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About 40 legal briefs have been filed by groups ranging from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to former national security officials in opposition to the signature policy the U.S. president has relied on to wage his trade wars.

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Trump said on Sunday that he will not attend Wednesday’s hearing, but described it as “one of the most important cases in the history of our country”.

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“If a President was not able to quickly and nimbly use the power of Tariffs, we would be defenceless, leading perhaps even to the ruination of our Nation,” he wrote on Truth Social.

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His lawyers argue that depriving the president of the authority to impose the tariffs would “thrust America back to the brink of economic catastrophe”.

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The Chamber of Commerce, the U.S.’s largest business association, counters that “the irreparable harms already suffered by American businesses large and small underscore the vast economic consequences of the President’s tariffs”.

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It says the uncertainty triggered by Trump’s approach is prompting businesses to delay capital investments and consumers to hold off purchasing.

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“The ruling is going to be fundamental and foundational for the president’s agenda going forward,” said Everett Eissenstat, a lawyer at Squire Patton Boggs and former Trump economic official. “I guarantee you that law students are going to be reading about this court case for a long time.”

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The case could also determine the future of more than US$50 billion in extra tariff revenue that the U.S. government has collected in 2025, a windfall that has soothed investors nervous about U.S. borrowing levels.

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Although the hearing will be held this week, the justices will take at least several weeks to deliberate before issuing a ruling.

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Think-tanks lodging legal briefs against the measure include the pro-market Cato and Goldwater institutes.

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Law professors and former judges have also lined up against Trump’s use of emergency tariff powers, as have serving lawmakers and former officials from both Democrat and Republican administrations.

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Only a handful of briefs — fewer than 10 as of late last week — backed the president.

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Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said lawmakers hoped to send a “clear statement” to the court.

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“These tariffs are not only increasing costs for American families, but they’re also not doing anything to bring back manufacturing jobs we’ve lost,” she told the Financial Times.

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While the U.S. constitution gives powers over tariffs and revenue-raising to Congress, it allows the U.S. president to have broad sway over foreign policy decisions.