Trump’s Tariffs Might Have Gone Too Far Even for This Supreme Court

The justices appear to be headed toward the second path. All three of the court’s liberal justices were hostile to the administration’s argument that Trump’s tariffs were legal under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. Multiple conservative justices also expressed deep skepticism. Among them was Justice Neil Gorsuch, who raised concerns about the permanent balance between legislative and executive power if the court upheld the tariffs.

“Congress, as a practical matter, can’t get this power back once it’s handed over,” he remarked, noting that it would take a supermajority of Congress to repeal IEEPA and overcome a likely presidential veto. He described the law’s breadth as a “one-way ratchet in the gradual accretion of power in the executive branch and away from the people’s representatives,” and he did not mean it as a compliment.

IEEPA, enacted in 1977, gives the president broad discretion to apply economic sanctions against foreign nations and groups during a declared national emergency. Past presidents have used it to freeze foreign assets in the United States, restrict trade with hostile countries, and prohibit certain forms of trade with foreign markets.