Supreme Court Asked to Hear Challenge to Trump’s Global Tariffs

The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Monday, Oct. 4, 2021. The court's conservative wing offers a menu of opportunities to exploit its 6-3 majority, and give Republicans the type of payoff they envisioned when they pushed through Justice Amy Coney Barrett's Senate confirmation just before the 2020 election. Photo by Stefani Reynolds /Bloomberg

Article content

(Bloomberg) — Two family-owned toy companies are asking the US Supreme Court to consider striking down many of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, putting a high-stakes fight with worldwide economic implications before the justices for the first time.

Article content

The request filed Tuesday seeks to put the case on an expedited track with the possibility of a definitive Supreme Court ruling by the end of the year. The filing asks the justices to take the unusual step of considering the case without waiting for a federal appeals court to rule.

Article content

Article content

Article content

Learning Resources Inc. and hand2mind Inc. said the issue of Trump’s tariff authority under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act is so economically weighty that the justices should intervene immediately. 

Article content

Article content

“In light of the tariffs’ massive impact on virtually every business and consumer across the nation, and the unremitting whiplash caused by the unfettered tariffing power the president claims, challenges to the IEEPA tariffs cannot await the normal appellate process,” the Chicago-area companies argued.

Article content

A federal appeals court in a separate case has said the tariffs could stay in effect until that panel hears arguments July 31.

Article content

Trump has portrayed tariffs as critical to leveling the playing field for American businesses and workers amid chronic trade deficits. White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said in a statement that “activists masquerading as judges tarnish the fabric of our constitutional republic, and the Trump administration will relentlessly pursue victory in every legal battle.” 

Article content

The filing comes in what until now had been a relatively low-profile case. US District Judge Rudolph Contreras in Washington said Trump exceeded his authority under IEEPA, though the judge limited the May 29 ruling to the two companies pressing the suit. 

Article content

Article content

Fast Track

Article content

The Trump administration then appealed, and the companies are now asking the Supreme Court to directly review Contreras’ ruling. The companies suggested the justices decide before their summer recess starts in about two weeks whether to hear the case, with arguments in September or October.

Article content

The US Court of International Trade declared Trump’s global tariffs unlawful in May in a separate case that also centers on the president’s powers under IEEPA. The law says the president may “regulate” the “importation” of property when needed to “deal with” an emergency.

Article content

Contreras said that language doesn’t authorize the president to impose import taxes. “The power to regulate is not the power to tax,” he wrote.

Article content

Both court clashes cover Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” tariffs — which combine a universal baseline levy of 10% with potentially much bigger rates for various trading partners. 

Article content

Each suit also concerns separate import taxes over fentanyl trafficking. The toy-company case challenges trafficking tariffs imposed against China, while the Court of International Trade case also concerns similar taxes on imports from Canada and Mexico.