The Supreme Court held high-stakes arguments on Nov. 5 over the legality of President Donald Trump’s global tariffs.
For nearly three hours, the justices probed whether Trump’s reciprocal and fentanyl tariffs were authorized by a 1970s emergency powers law.
Multiple federal courts have held that Trump’s tariffs exceeded what Congress authorized him to do under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
In Article I, the Constitution grants Congress the power to impose tariffs. The government argued, however, that Congress allowed Trump to exercise that power through the IEEPA, which allows presidents to regulate imports, among other things, in response to emergencies….