Trump Begs U.S. Supreme Court to Uphold His "Illegal" Tariffs

President Donald Trump asked the US Supreme Court (SC) to uphold his global tariffs, seeking review in a case that could affect trillions of dollars in trade and give him broad new leverage over the world economy, Greg Stoehr and Zoe Tilman reported for Bloomberg News.

The levies remain in effect because the appeals court put its ruling on hold to give Trump time to seek SC review.

The appeal calls for placing the case on a highly expedited schedule, with arguments in early November, according to filings reviewed by Bloomberg.

It follows a federal appeals court decision that said Trump cannot impose wide-scale import taxes by invoking a 1977 law designed to address national emergencies.

The financial stakes make the case the biggest ever to land at the SC. A defeat for Trump would cut the average US effective tariff rate of 16.3% by at least half and could force the US to refund tens of billions of dollars, according to Bloomberg Economics analyst Chris Kennedy. It could also upend the trade deals Trump has struck with some countries.

The levies remain in effect because the appeals court put its ruling on hold to give Trump time to seek SC review.

The decision nonetheless “has jeopardized ongoing foreign negotiations and threatens framework deals,” US Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the court.

“Left undisturbed, the decision below would, in the president’s view, unilaterally disarm the US and allow other nations to hold America’s economy hostage to their retaliatory trade policies.”

An argument in early November would make it possible for the court to rule by the end of the year, though the court’s term extends until the middle of next year.