Trump urges Supreme Court to reject early challenge to his tariffs

By Greg Stohr

 

President Donald Trump asked the US Supreme Court to turn away a challenge to his sweeping tariffs, telling the justices they should let the legal fight develop before getting involved. 

The filing comes in a case filed by two educational-toy makers that want the justices to take an unusual shortcut by getting involved before a federal appeals court has ruled. US Solicitor General D. John Sauer, the administration’s top Supreme Court lawyer, told the justices Thursday that they “should not leapfrog” the lower court proceedings. 

 

 

Trump’s import taxes remain in effect even though two courts have said many of them exceed the president’s powers. The challenged taxes include Trump’s April 2 “Liberation Day” tariffs, which combine a universal baseline levy of 10 per cent with potentially much higher rates for various trading partners.

 

In the case before the high court, Learning Resources Inc. and hand2mind Inc. say Trump lacked authority to issue the tariffs under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act. US District Judge Rudolph Contreras in Washington agreed, though he limited his ruling to the two companies that sued. 

 

The Trump administration then appealed, and the companies are asking the Supreme Court to directly review Contreras’ ruling. The high court in June refused to put the case on an ultra-fast schedule that might have led to arguments as soon as September.

 

In a separate case, the US Court of International Trade similarly declared many of Trump’s tariffs illegal in May. A different federal appeals court scheduled arguments in that case for July 31 and said the tariffs could stay in place in the meantime. 

 

The April 2 tariffs represented the biggest increase in US import taxes since the 1930 Smoot-Hawley levies, taking the country’s average applied tariff rate to its highest level in more than a century. 

 

Trump has portrayed tariffs as critical to leveling the playing field for American businesses and workers amid chronic trade deficits. 

 

The case is Learning Resources v. Trump, 24-1287.