The Supreme Court announced Thursday that it will fast-track a case concerning the legality of President Donald Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs, scheduling arguments for the first week of November.
Typically, the high court’s decision would come early next summer, but it agreed to expedite review at the White House’s request.
The case proceeds to the high court after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to levy steep ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on dozens of countries was unlawful.
The tariffs, a key component of the president’s economic agenda, were allowed to remain in place while the case worked its way through the court system. The Trump administration is looking for the Supreme Court to overturn the lower court’s ruling.
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In the meantime, the White House has stressed to the courts its belief that the tariffs should be allowed to remain in place.
According to an Aug. 29 court filing, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the tariff negotiations “have been one of the country’s top foreign policy priorities for the last several months” and that “[s]uspending the effectiveness of the tariffs would lead to dangerous diplomatic embarrassment” and “expose the United States to the risk of retaliation.”
Trump, in a post to Truth Social, said that the lower court’s decision would “literally destroy the United States of America.”
“If these Tariffs ever went away, it would be a total disaster for the Country. It would make us financially weak, and we have to be strong,” Trump wrote.
Over the past several months the White House has engaged in a vicious back-and-forth on tariff policy. On April 3, which Trump dubbed “Liberation Day,” his administration imposed a 10% tariff on all imported goods in addition to country-specific tariffs, some as high as 49%.
Those tariffs were rescinded, giving the White House time to negotiate trade deals and framework agreements. On Aug. 7, tariffs affecting nearly all U.S. trading partners took effect, and have remained in place since.
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