Today, President Trump promised an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court as early as tomorrow of last Friday’s ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit striking down his tariffs issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), including his IEEPA-based “reciprocal” tariffs that were imposed in April that just took effect in August. The ruling also voided a separate set of IEEPA-based tariffs imposed in February against China, Canada, and Mexico. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is developing backup plans in case the Supreme Court does not reverse the decision, including using Section 338 of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, which allows the President to impose tariffs of up to 50% for five months against imports from countries that are found to discriminate against U.S. commerce.
