Trump appeals to US Supreme Court to rule on legality of tariffs

September 4, 2025

Washington, Sep 4: Donald Trump has urged the US Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that said most of the sweeping trade tariffs he imposed were illegal.

The US president filed a petition late Wednesday seeking a review of last week’s federal appeals court ruling in Washington DC, which focused on his “Emancipation Day” border taxes implemented on April 2, which imposed duties ranging from 10% to 50% on most US imports and sent global trade and markets into a tailspin.

The court ruled by a 7-4 majority last Friday that Trump had overstepped his presidential powers when he invoked a 1977 law designed to deal with national emergencies to justify his “reciprocal” tariffs.

The decision was the biggest blow to Trump’s tariff policies so far, but the tariffs were put on hold until October 14, giving the administration time to ask the Supreme Court to review the decision.

Trump has now appealed and is expected to have the Supreme Court review the case, although that would require the consent of the justices. The administration has asked for a ruling by September 10.

The appeal seeks an expedited trial, with arguments set to be heard by November 10, according to filings seen by Bloomberg. The justices could then issue a ruling by the end of the year.

The ruling upholds a previous ruling by the US Court of International Trade that found the tariffs unlawful.

The federal appeals court said last Friday that US law “provides the President with significant authority to take a number of actions in response to a declared national emergency, but none of these actions expressly includes the power to impose tariffs, duties or similar actions or to tax.”

It said many of Trump’s hefty tariffs are “unlimited in scope, amount and duration” and “assert broad authority that goes beyond the clear limits of the law supported by his administration.”

The president quickly hit back. “If allowed to stand, this decision will literally devastate the United States,” he wrote on his Truthout social platform.

On Tuesday, he demanded a “swift decision” from the Supreme Court. Addressing reporters at the White House, Trump claimed that without tariffs, the US could “become a third world country”.

According to Bloomberg Economics analyst Chris Kennedy, the defeat of Trump’s tariffs would reduce the US’s current average effective tariff rate (16.3%) by at least half and could cost the US billions of dollars in back taxes. It could also derail initial trade deals the president has struck with some countries, including Britain and the European Union.

Tariffs usually need to be approved by Congress, but Trump claims he has the right to impose tariffs on trading partners under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which gives the president the authority to regulate or restrict international transactions during a national emergency under certain circumstances.

Earlier this week, US clothing brand Levi’s said “growing anti-American sentiment as a result of Trump’s tariffs and government policies” could turn British shoppers away from its denim. Other brands such as Tesla have also suffered in Europe and Canada, while sales of Jack Daniels whisky have fallen due to protests against US products.