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Last week, the US Supreme Court had deferred its ruling on whether President Donald Trump overstepped his presidential powers by using emergency laws to levy sweeping import duties on trade partners, including India, China, among others. Now all eyes are on the SCOTUS – as it prepares to deliver another ruling – with major legal disputes pending including testing the legality of Trump's tariff regime.
Trump claimed it would be a "complete mess" if the Supreme Court were to strike down his tariffs – a remark that signalled his unease over the impending decision.
The US Supreme Court's ruling would determine whether Trump acted within his statutory authority as president and whether the tariffs can legally stand.
What if tariffs are ruled illegal & what if they aren't?
- In case the Supreme Court rules the tariffs as illegal and orders for refunds, it would be a major blow to the Trump administration. Earlier, Trump ranted on his Truth Social that repaying the money would be “a complete mess” and “almost impossible for our Country to pay”. He argued that refunds could run into “many Hundreds of Billions of Dollars” – which is estimated to be over $130 billion, as per a report by BBC.
- The White House has said that officials will find alternative avenues, if the court does not rule in its favour. According to a report by BBC, it could include existing legislation which allows the president to put tariffs of up to 15% in place for 150 days.
What are the odds SCOTUS declares tariffs illegal?
Multiple reports mentioned that the tariffs would be ruled unconstitutional, at least in part, citing experts.
A report by Business Times mentioned that 27% of traders believe the US Supreme Court will side with Trump’s decision, while the remaining 73% are betting against it – citing Polymarket, a blockchain-based prediction platform.
What time is the US Supreme Court decision today?
The US Supreme Court is set to release rulings at about 10 a.m. ET, today, Wednesday, which is 8:30 pm IST, same day.
The court, however, does not announce ahead of time which rulings it intends to issue. It issued one ruling last Friday but did not act in the tariffs case.
What is the IEEPA law – at the core of tariff case?
Trump had slapped sweeping tariffs on almost all of America's trading partners – invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
The IEEPA – is a1977 law that allows the US President to regulate economic transactions during a declared national emergency. The Trump administration had argued that persistent trade deficits, unfair trade practices and supply-chain vulnerabilities constituted an economic emergency.
US importers and trade associations pushed back, arguing that IEEPA does not give the US president the reigns to levy broad-based import tariffs – only Congress can do that, as per the US constitution.
Last year, lower courts had already ruled against the government, holding that the emergency law had been stretched beyond its intended purpose. The tariffs, however, remained in force while the administration appealed.
English (US) ·