Today, the Supreme Court granted the government’s expedited request for Supreme Court review (writ of certiorari) in V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump, agreeing to review whether the Trump Administration’s “Liberation Day” tariffs exceed the President’s legal and constitutional authority. Given the importance of the issues and the need for a prompt resolution, the Liberty Justice Center agreed to the government’s request.
The Liberty Justice Center, along with legal scholar Ilya Somin, filed this case on April 14 in the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) on behalf of five American small businesses harmed by the tariffs. The CIT held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, does not give the President unlimited unilateral authority to impose tariffs on the American people whenever he wants, at whatever level he wants, for whatever countries and products he wants, and for as long as he wants.
The government appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, where the Liberty Justice Center was joined by leading appellate lawyers and constitutional scholars, Judge Michael W. McConnell and Neal Katyal. On August 29, in a 7–4 decision, the Federal Circuit affirmed the CIT’s decision, holding that IEEPA does not authorize the President’s so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs. The Supreme Court will now decide whether to affirm those rulings.
Recognizing the urgency of the matter, the Supreme Court has now set this case on an expedited schedule, with oral argument to take place the first week of November.
“We are confident that the Supreme Court, like the CIT and the Federal Circuit, will recognize that the President does not have unilateral tariff power under IEEPA,” said Jeffrey Schwab, Senior Counsel and Director of Litigation at the Liberty Justice Center. “Congress, not the President alone, has the constitutional power to impose tariffs.”
Read the original filing in V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump here.