Overview
- Oral arguments begin Wednesday with the tariffs still in effect despite lower-court rulings that found the IEEPA-based regime unlawful.
- Challengers that include small businesses and Democratic-led states say the duties operate as taxes on Americans and invoke the major-questions doctrine.
- The Justice Department defends the levies as regulatory tariffs addressing foreign threats and cites Judge Richard Taranto’s Federal Circuit dissent as support.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent plans to attend the hearing, the president will not, and officials emphasize economic and national-security stakes.
- Customs collections reached about $195 billion in FY2025 with Deutsche Bank estimating roughly half tied to IEEPA, and the administration signals fallback authorities such as Sections 232, 301 and 338 if it loses.