Bipartisan U.S. Senators File Supreme Court Brief Urging High Court to Strike Down Trump’s ‘Emergency’ Tariffs

WASHINGTON, DC - In an effort to prevent the abuse and misuse of emergency powers by the president - regardless of party -- U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) joined over 200 members of Congress in filing a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court challenging President Donald Trump's authority to impose tariffs without permission from Congress.

The brief was filed ahead of a November U.S. Supreme Court hearing on the consolidated case Learning Resources et al. v. Trump and Trump v. V.O.S. Selections et al., which challenges President Donald Trump's unlawful use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs on imported goods.

The sweeping tariffs imposed by President Trump have increased average tariffs to their highest rate since the Great Depression and would cost households almost $2,400 more a year, according to the Yale Budget Lab.

The brief Senator Reed and his colleagues signed argues that the Constitution grants Congress the sole authority to impose tariffs and regulate commerce with foreign nations, and that Congress did not delegate that power to the President under IEEPA, which was enacted in 1977. It urges the Supreme Court to reaffirm Congress's constitutional authority over tariff policy and to strike down the President's misuse of IEEPA.

"IEEPA was never meant to authorize tariffs, and for its nearly fifty years of existence, no president has sought to abuse and ignore the law this way until President Trump came along trying to seize new power and authority for himself at the expense of everyday Americans and by upending the constitutional order," said Senator Reed. "What President Trump is attempting to do is seize new powers for himself. If the Supreme Court rules in his favor then he and every future president may weaponize tariffs, unilaterally pick winners and losers, and use tariffs to punish opponents or curry favor with certain industries."

The brief notes that the Trump Administration's recent tariffs were not imposed through trade statutes in which Congress did delegate tariff authority to the President, such as Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. Rather, President Trump imposed them under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a law originally intended to restrict financial transactions with hostile foreign actors during national security emergencies. By invoking IEEPA to impose tariffs without Congressional input or a transparent policy process, the Trump Administration is attempting an unlawful executive overreach that harms Americans' financial interests and undermines Congress's constitutional authority.

"Presidents have used IEEPA to block financial transactions with hostile actors, freeze assets, and to impose targeted sanctions ... Yet between 1977 and 2024, not once did a President use IEEPA to impose tariffs. The total absence of tariffs for nearly fifty years reinforces the conclusion that the statute does not authorize such measures," the amicus briefing states.

The Supreme Court filing follows consistent rulings from three key courts: The Federal Circuit; the Court of International Trade; and the District Court for the District of Columbia, which all found the Trump Administration's misuse of IEEPA to impose tariffs to be unlawful.

Oral arguments in the case are set to begin before the U.S. Supreme Court on November 5.

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) joined with Reed and 34 other U.S. Senators in signing the brief, which is also backed by 171 members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

The full brief is available here.

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