Trump appeals to Supreme Court to rule on legality of tariffs

NEW YORK -- US President Donald Trump has asked the US Supreme Court to swiftly overturn a lower court decision that found many of his sweeping tariffs illegal.

The petition comes after the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Friday ruled in a 7-4 vote that Trump overstepped his authority when he implemented the tariffs on nearly all trading partners through an emergency economic powers act, saying his action did not fall within the president's mandate and that imposing tariffs was "a core Congressional power."

Earlier in May, the New York-based Court of International Trade declared the tariffs were unlawful.

Filings by the Trump administration say that "delaying a ruling until Jun. 2026 could result in a scenario in which $750 billion to $1 trillion in tariffs have already been collected, and unwinding them could cause significant disruption."

"The stakes in this case could not be higher," Solicitor General John Sauer said in Wednesday night's filing.

US businesses have paid over 210 billion dollars as of Aug 24 to cover the tariffs deemed illegal by US courts. If the Supreme Court upholds the decision, the US Treasury could have to "give back" tariff revenue collected, local media reported.

Trump used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose steep levies on trading partners, declaring a national emergency in April and arguing that a trade imbalance had harmed domestic manufacturing and posed a threat to national security.

The appeals court nevertheless paused its ruling from taking effect until Oct 14, giving Trump time to appeal to the Supreme Court.