Supreme Court Hears Trump Tariff Case as U.S. and China Ease Duties

Overview

• Oral arguments opened Wednesday on challenges to tariffs imposed under the 1977 IEEPA, after lower courts ruled many of the measures exceeded presidential authority.
• A coalition of 12 states and hundreds of small businesses seeks to invalidate the tariffs and recover tens of billions of dollars collected, citing constitutional and statutory limits.
• The White House said President Trump will not attend the hearing, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent present as the administration asks the Court for expedited consideration.
• Separately, Trump signed an order cutting additional tariffs on Chinese goods from 20% to 10% effective November 10, while Beijing extended for one year the suspension of an extra 24% levy and paused up to 15% on U.S. farm goods including soybeans.
• China’s Commerce Ministry said export-control restrictions on 15 U.S. companies will be lifted starting November 10, reinforcing the bilateral tariff truce announced after the Trump–Xi meeting in Busan.