November 5, 2025
What’s At Stake
What is the case about?
The Supreme Court heard oral arguments today in two consolidated cases brought by several small businesses and 12 states challenging President Trump’s power to impose tariffs on goods imported into the United States.
President Trump relied primarily on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose the tariffs, claiming the IEEPA grants the president authority to deal with any unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States that originates, in part, outside the country. The Act further provides that in a national emergency, the president may regulate the importation or exportation of property in which any foreign country has an interest.
Who is affected and how?
Every American consumer and business will be affected by this decision. All foreign countries that trade with the United States will also be affected.
Why does it matter?
The Trump administration contends that the tariffs fall within the text of IEEPA: The power to regulate importation includes the power to impose tariffs. The challengers argue that interpreting IEEPA to give the president authority to impose tariffs violates the major questions doctrine, which bars the president from making economic decisions without clear authorization from Congress. They further assert that allowing the president to rely on IEEPA to impose tariffs contravenes the nondelegation doctrine, the constitutional principle that Congress cannot delegate its legislative power to another branch of government. This dispute matters because it tests the limits of presidential authority to respond to foreign economic threats and protect the nation’s interests.
Our Take
Although the major questions and nondelegation doctrines held significance in the Justices’ lines of questioning, it seems likely that the Court will ultimately uphold the tariffs, recognizing the president’s authority under IEEPA.
