What to know about the Supreme Court arguments over Trump’s tariffs

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Three lower courts have ruled illegal President Donald Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose worldwide tariffs. Now the Supreme Court, with three justices Trump appointed and generally favorable to muscular presidential power, will have the final word.

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In roughly two dozen emergency appeals, the justices have largely gone along with Trump in temporarily allowing parts of his aggressive second-term agenda to take effect while lawsuits play out.

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But the case being argued Wednesday is the first in which the court will render a final decision on a Trump policy. The stakes are enormous, both politically and financially.

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Trump has made tariffs a central piece of his economic and foreign policy, and has said it would be a “disaster” if the Supreme Court rules against him.

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Here are some things to know about the tariffs arguments at the Supreme Court:

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Tariffs are taxes on imports

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They are paid by companies that import finished products or parts, and the added cost can be passed on to consumers.

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Through September, the government has reported collecting $195 billion in revenue generated from the tariffs.

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The Constitution gives Congress the power to impose tariffs, but Trump has claimed extraordinary power to act without congressional approval by declaring national emergencies under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

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In February, he invoked the law to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, saying that the illegal flow of immigrants and drugs across the U.S. border amounted to a national emergency and that the three countries needed to do more to stop it.

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In April, he imposed worldwide tariffs after declaring the United States’ longstanding trade deficits “a national emergency.”

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Libertarian-backed businesses and states challenged the tariffs in federal court

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Challengers to Trump’s actions won rulings from a specialized trade court, a district judge in Washington and a business-focused appeals court, also in the nation’s capital.

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Those courts found that Trump could not justify tariffs under the emergency powers law, which doesn’t mention them. But they left the tariffs in place in the meantime.

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The appeals court relied on ” major questions,” a legal doctrine devised by the Supreme Court that requires Congress to speak clearly on issues of “vast economic and political significance.”

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The ‘major questions’ doctrine doomed several Biden policies

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Conservative majorities struck down three separate initiatives related to the coronavirus pandemic. The court ended a pause on evictions, blocked a vaccine mandate for large businesses and prevented student loan forgiveness that would have totaled $500 billion over 10 years.

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In comparison, the stakes in the tariff case are much higher. The taxes are estimated to generate $3 trillion over 10 years.