Tariffs, Turmoil, and the Supreme Court’s Crucible

The International Emergency Economic Powers Act, that relic from 1977, was never meant to be a plowshare for tariffs. Yet it has been wielded like a sledgehammer by those who see trade as a battlefield. The law, a dry riverbed of vague authority, now faces the judgment of higher courts. The Court of International Trade declared its use unlawful in May, and the U.S. Court of Appeals echoed the verdict in August. Now, the Supreme Court-nine justices with ink-stained hands and weary eyes-weighs the matter. The air hums with the question: Will this be the day the dam breaks?





