(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump insisted Tuesday that he needs a tool that no other president has used to save the nation from disaster. The comments came a day before the U.S. Supreme Court hears a challenge to his tariff authority.
Trump has insisted for months that the import duties he's imposed on every U.S. trading partner must remain in place. He's predicted ruination for the U.S. should the nation's highest court rule against him.
"Tomorrow's United States Supreme Court case is, literally, LIFE OR DEATH for our Country," Trump said Tuesday afternoon in a Truth Social post. "With a Victory, we have tremendous, but fair, Financial and National Security. Without it, we are virtually defenseless against other Countries who have, for years, taken advantage of us."
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent made the rounds on TV on Tuesday, stumping for Trump.
A group of Democrat-led states, five small businesses and two Illinois-based toymakers have challenged Trump's authority to impose tariffs without Congressional approval under a 1977 law. That law, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, doesn't mention the word "tariff" and has never been used to impose tariffs in the past.
"The President has no independent constitutional authority to impose tariffs. Indeed, when the Framers enumerated Congress's 'legislative Powers,' the first was the 'Power To lay and collect Taxes' and 'Duties' – tariffs," attorneys for the Liberty Justice Center, which represents the five small businesses, argued in a brief in the case. "No power was more fundamental. As James Madison wrote, the 'power over the purse' is 'the most complete and effectual weapon with which any constitution can arm the immediate representatives of the people.'"
The challengers argue Trump doesn't have the power to impose tariffs without Congress and say he's overstepped his authority under the terms of the 1977 law. Trump's team said Congress granted the president broad powers under the law to take action during an emergency. Trump has declared trade deficits and fentanyl smuggling as the emergencies underpinning his tariffs, which form the foundation for his entire economic agenda.
Other laws give the president the power to impose tariffs under limited circumstances, but none are as broad as the authority Trump claims under the 1977 law. Trump used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act for all of his so-called reciprocal tariffs, which were initially announced on April 2, which Trump dubbed "Liberation Day" for U.S. trade. Trump used other laws to impose tariffs on automobiles, auto parts, steel, aluminum and copper, among others.
Bessent, who plans to attend oral arguments in the Supreme Court case on Wednesday, said the administration has a backup plan.
"You should assume that they're here to stay," Bessent said about Trump's tariffs.
On Tuesday, the White House also said Trump's team was prepared for an adverse ruling, although press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump's tariff authority should be upheld.
"We are 100% confident in the president and his team's legal arguments and the merits of the law in this case," Leavitt said. "We remain optimistic that the Supreme Court is going to do the right thing. The importance of this case cannot be overstated."
Businesses have said the frequently changing tariffs make planning ahead impossible and that import duties could put them out of business entirely, shifting for economic activity abroad.
Back in June, the small businesses, represented by the Liberty Justice Center, said their livelihood was on the line. The businesses included VOS Selections, a New York-based wine and spirit importer.
"An eventual refund is of little comfort to the VOS Plaintiffs, who face imminent irreparable harm, including existential threats of bankruptcy and permanent damage to their business, whether by reputational damage, loss of goodwill, or harm to relationships with suppliers and customers," Liberty Justice Center attorneys wrote. "What good is a refund of the tariffs paid to a business that is bankrupt and no longer exists?"
Two lower courts have already said the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act doesn't give the president unbounded tariff authority. In late August, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a previous lower court ruling, but said Trump's tariffs could remain in place while the administration appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court. In the 7-4 decision, the majority said that tariff authority rests with Congress.
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