Trump’s tariffs face critical court tests for hours ahead of scheduled launch
Donald Trump’s full tariff regime will face crucial legal tests Thursday morning, only hours before the new import duties that take effect. The case could determine whether the former president’s active trade policy had justifiable reason to stand legally under emergency powers.
At an extraordinary full-base hearing, all 11 judges from the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals will justify the extensive “reciprocal” tariffs on dozens of countries by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA).
The case stems from a May ruling by a three-council panel of judges in the International Trade Court that found Trump invoked emergency powers and blocked tariffs when the IEPEA was unreasonable. However, the ruling continued until Thursday’s appeal hearing, meaning that the tariffs could still take effect if they were maintained.
Trump posted “America’s Big Case” on his Truth Social Platform, claiming: “If our country cannot protect itself through tariffs on tariffs, we will “dead” without a chance to survive or succeed.”
The lawsuit was filed by a coalition of five small U.S. businesses and 12 Democratic-led states. Their argument is based on the initial intention of the IEPA, which enables the president to respond to “anomal and extraordinary threats” in a national emergency. The plaintiff argued that Trump used the regulations to justify retaliatory tariffs on trade policies in other countries, which did not meet legal thresholds.
They are represented by the Liberty Justice Center, a liberal public interest law firm, and are financially supported by conservative giants Robert Mercer and Richard Uihlein, a major supporter of Trump’s presidential campaign.
Being the core pillar of Trump’s economic policy. The reciprocal tariff scheme imposes up to 30% of the duties on a range of imported goods and has already drawn retaliation measures from the EU, China and other major trading partners.
If the court is on the plaintiff’s side, this could force the policy to roll back sharply, which has dealt a major blow to Trump’s efforts to reshape U.S. global trade relations. Instead, Trump’s victory will greatly undermine the role of Congress in developing tariff policies.
The Court of Appeal’s ruling is expected to take place in the coming days, but with the tariffs that take effect at midnight, today’s hearings are widely seen as politically explosive cases with a great impact on U.S. trade, legal and executive power.
