Supreme Court Hears Arguments on 2 Cases Related to Trump’s Tariffs

President Trump's tariffs were at the top of the Supreme Court's oral argument schedule today. The justices peppered the government's solicitor general with questions about the president's power to impose global tariffs. Entities Arlene Richards explains both sides. >> The Trump administration solicitor general defended the president's power to impose global tariffs on Wednesday before a skeptical panel of Supreme Court justices. On April 2nd, President Trump determined that our exploding trade deficits have brought us to the brink of an economic and national security catastrophe. He further pronounced that the traffic of fentanyl and other opioids into our country has created a public health crisis, taking hundreds of thousands of American lives. President Trump has declared that these emergencies are country killing and not sustainable, that they threaten the bedrock of our national and economic security, and that fixing them will make America a strong, financially viable, and respected country again. >> A handful of small businesses in 12 Democratic states have accused the president of overstepping his authority by imposing global tariffs where the law doesn't allow it. They maintain that only Congress has the power to regulate tariffs. >> Tariffs are taxes. They take dollars from Americans pockets and deposit them in the US Treasury. Our founders gave that taxing power to Congress alone. Yet here, the president bypassed Congress and imposed one of the largest tax increases in our lifetimes. Many doctrines explain why this is illegal, like the presumption that Congress speaks clearly when it imposes taxes and duties and the major questions doctrine. But it comes down to common sense. It's simply implausible that in enacting AIPA, Congress handed the president the power to overhaul the entire tariff system and the American economy in the process. The court is not expected to make a ruling today, but it appears that the justices are concerned about the Trump administration's regulation of tariffs globally with several justices questioning whether he properly interpreted the statute in question. Arlene Richards, NTD News.