Overview
- At Nov. 5 oral arguments, conservative justices including Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett questioned whether IEEPA’s “regulate importation” language authorizes tariff imposition without clear congressional approval.
- The Supreme Court took the case after two lower courts rejected the IEEPA rationale, and the tariffs stay in force during expedited review with a ruling expected in the coming months.
- Harvard Pricing Lab and Yale Budget Lab report that prices on import‑heavy goods rose roughly 5%–6% above trend since March and that the duties contributed about 0.7 percentage points to recent CPI inflation.
- The White House defends the tariff program and has highlighted revenue topping $100 billion this year, while business groups cite higher costs and unstable pricing that complicate planning.
- Democrats are linking voter anger over prices to the tariffs after off‑year gains, and industry leaders expect the administration to pursue alternative authorities such as Sections 232 or 301 if the IEEPA argument fails.