Supreme Court Hears Challenge to Trump's Tariffs

The U.S. Supreme Court this week will decide whether President Trump lawfully used the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose sweeping global tariffs that lower courts have partly blocked. A ruling against the administration could force billions in refunds, erase a significant source of federal revenue Republicans were counting on, and upend supply chains and U.S. trade leverage while consumers and businesses absorb costs. The challenge has been driven chiefly by small businesses that say the tariffs disrupted supply chains and raised costs, while many large firms have stayed publicly silent amid fears of political retribution. Legal scholars say the case presents a high‑stakes separation‑of‑powers question about whether a president can use emergency authority to impose tariffs without Congress. President Trump — who calls the case “the most important ever” — will not attend the hearing to avoid distraction, and the administration says it is pursuing other tariff authorities and contingency plans.