US Supreme Court does not issue ruling in Trump tariffs case

Summary

• The US Supreme Court did not rule on Trump's tariff case on Jan 9, a test of presidential power.
• Trump imposed tariffs using a 1977 law meant for national emergencies, sparking legal challenges.
• Lower courts ruled against Trump, who claims tariffs strengthened the US and would be hurt by a loss.

WASHINGTON - The US Supreme Court will not issue a ruling on Jan 9 in a major case testing the legality of President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs.

The justices issued one ruling on Jan 9 in a criminal case.

The court does not announce in advance what cases will be decided.

The challenge to Mr Trump’s tariffs
marks a major test of presidential powers, as well as of the court’s willingness to check some of the Republican president’s far-reaching assertions of authority since he returned to office in January 2025.

The outcome will also impact the global economy.
 

During arguments in the case heard by the court on Nov 5, conservative and liberal justices appeared to cast doubt
on the legality of the tariffs, which Mr Trump imposed by invoking a 1977 law meant for use during national emergencies. The Trump administration is appealing rulings by lower courts that he overstepped his authority.

Mr Trump has said tariffs have made the United States stronger financially.

In a social media post on Jan 2, Mr Trump said a Supreme Court ruling against the tariffs would be a “terrible blow” to the US.
 

Mr Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act
to impose so-called “reciprocal” tariffs on goods imported from individual countries - nearly every foreign trading partner - to address what he called a national emergency related to US trade deficits.

He invoked the same law to impose tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico, citing the trafficking of the often-abused painkiller fentanyl and illicit drugs into the US as a national emergency.

The challenges to the tariffs in the cases before the Supreme Court were brought by businesses affected by the tariffs and 12 US states, most of them Democratic-governed. REUTERS