President Donald Trump’s administration asked the US Supreme Court on Wednesday for an expedited ruling preserving the tariffs that have roiled global markets, saying a lower court ruling against it has already damaged trade negotiations.
Solicitor General John Sauer urged the court in a filing to “expedite resolution of this case to the maximum extent feasible, given the enormous importance of quickly confirming the full legal standing of the President’s tariffs.”
The petition comes after a 7-4 ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which found that Trump exceeded his authority in tapping emergency economic powers to impose wide-ranging duties.
The judges, however, allowed the levies to stay in place through mid-October, giving Trump time to take the fight to the Supreme Court.
Since returning to the presidency, Trump has invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose “reciprocal” tariffs on almost all US trading partners, with a 10-percent baseline level and higher rates for dozens of economies, including the European Union and Japan.
The US president tapped similar powers to slap separate tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China over what he said was the flow of deadly drugs into the United States.
The appeals court ruled he had exceeded his authority by invoking the emergency act.
It also casts doubt over deals Trump has struck with key trading partners like the EU, raising the question of what would happen to the billions of dollars collected by the United States since the tariffs were put in place — if the conservative-majority Supreme Court does not side with him.
In a declaration filed with the petition, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that the appellate court’s decision had stripped the administration of “substantial negotiating leverage.”
The solicitor general requested oral arguments by early November.
AFP
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