Supreme Court Tariff Case About Separation of Powers, Says Lead Plaintiff

Sara Albrecht, chief at the Liberty Justice Center — the lead plaintiff in the Supreme Court tariff case, says that the issue at the heart of the high court's ruling was about solidifying the rules around tariffs and the which branch of government has the authority to issue tax policy.

President Donald Trump said he doesn’t need to go to Congress to restore his sweeping global tariffs after the Supreme Court decision Friday that struck them down.

Asked if he would go to Congress on the matter, Trump told reporters at the White House “I don’t need to” because the authorities he is seeking are already approved. Trump said if he did ask Congress for additional tariff authority, he believed he would probably get it.

The White House has said it will quickly replace the levies using other legal tools. Trump said he would impose a 10% global tariff under Section 122 authority, and will launch several investigations that could justify other tariff implementations.

The president’s new approach avoids a legislative fight to restore his sweeping global tariffs, where he would have faced daunting odds.

The slim Republican majority in both chambers and heightened anxiety around the economic impact of the duties would make enshrining the tariffs into law challenging. And both the House and Senate have opposed parts of Trump’s tariff agenda in recent months.

Trump’s revised tariff plan relies on invoking other authority to impose duties on imports deemed a threat to specific US industries or national security. Several of the options require lengthy investigations beforehand or limit the amount and duration of any penalties.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a social media post that the White House and congressional leaders “will determine the best path forward in the coming weeks.”  Trump opened his remarks by delivering a broadside against the Supreme Court, saying he was “ashamed of certain members” and that some of the justices were “frankly a disgrace to our nation.”

The court ruled 6-3 that Trump had exceeded his authority by invoking a federal emergency-powers law to impose his so-called “reciprocal” tariffs across the globe, as well as targeted import taxes the administration has said address fentanyl trafficking. Two justices appointed by Trump in his first term — Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett — joined the majority in striking down the tariffs.

The justices didn’t address the extent to which importers are entitled to refunds, leaving it to a lower court to sort out those issues. If fully allowed, refunds could total as much as $170 billion — more than half the total revenue Trump’s tariffs have brought in.

The decision invalidates Trump’s April 2 tariffs, which imposed levies of 10-50% on imports from most countries. It also scuttles duties on goods from Canada, Mexico and China in the name of addressing fentanyl trafficking, and it casts doubt on separate IEEPA tariffs placed on goods from Brazil and India.

Trump repeatedly voiced frustration throughout his remarks to the media. Even the usual bright lights of the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room were dimmed and colored for dramatic effect.

He contended that the court’s decision didn’t make sense because he had the power to fully embargo trade from a country — but not tariff its goods. He said he was irked that the ruling would allow him to issue licenses but not impose related fees. And he at times attacked the justices on remarkably personal terms, saying the decision by Gorsuch and Barrett was “an embarrassment to their families.”

“They’re very unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution,” Trump said, suggesting the justices may have been swayed by foreign interests.

Read more: Trump’s Options After Supreme Court Said His Tariffs Are Illegal

The court’s decision not to dictate how the tariffs would be refunded also earned Trump’s ire. “We’ll end up being in court for the next five years,” the president said.

The president argued that his tariff program is essential not only to draw manufacturing back to the US, but as a foreign policy tool.

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