Overview
- Small businesses and a coalition of states filed briefs this week urging the Court to leave lower-court rulings intact that found IEEPA does not authorize the trafficking or reciprocal tariffs.
- Challengers call the duties an unlawful tax on Americans, citing government figures that peg the burden at more than $3 trillion over the next decade.
- The administration argues IEEPA permits tariffs as a traditional way to regulate importation, even though the statute does not expressly mention duties.
- The Court of International Trade and a 7–4 Federal Circuit panel held that IEEPA lacks clear authorization for such tariffs, yet the duties remain in force pending Supreme Court review.
- Customs has collected nearly $90 billion through September, with a CBO analysis estimating up to $4 trillion over ten years, while the president defends the levies as vital and has signaled interest in attending arguments.