Neal Katyal, partner at Milbank, will argue at the Supreme Court on behalf of the private parties during the Nov. 5 hearing on the legality of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a representative of the parties confirmed (Donald J. Trump v. V.O.S. Selections, U.S. 25-250) (Learning Resources v. Donald J. Trump, U.S. 24-1287).
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A group of 36 senators and 171 representatives filed an amicus brief last week at the Supreme Court, challenging President Donald Trump's ability to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. All the signatories were members of the Democratic Party, save for Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska (Donald J. Trump v. V.O.S. Selections, U.S. 25-250) (Learning Resources v. Donald J. Trump, U.S. 24-1287).
A group of 44 leading economists, including former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and four Nobel Prize winners, filed an amicus brief at the Supreme Court on Oct. 23 to contest President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs, arguing that the threat underlying the tariffs, sustained trade deficits, don't amount to an "unusual and extraordinary" threat to the U.S. economy, as required by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (Donald J. Trump v. V.O.S. Selections, U.S. 25-250) (Learning Resources v. Donald J. Trump, U.S. 24-1287).
Twenty-seven amicus briefs were filed at the Supreme Court on Oct. 24 in opposition to the ability of President Donald Trump to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, bringing to 35 the total number of amicus briefs filed at the high court against the tariffs. The amici are a mix of law professors, current and former government officials, policy advocacy groups, economists and individual companies.
Two more legal scholars on Oct. 22 added their amici curiae brief to a stack before the Supreme Court for its upcoming ruling on Learning Resources and V.O.S. Selections. They focused on the danger an unlimited executive tariff authority would pose to the separation of powers (Donald J. Trump v. V.O.S. Selections, U.S. 25-250) (Learning Resources v. Donald J. Trump, U.S. 24-1287).
The Court of International Trade on Oct. 20 denied importer Detroit Axle's motion to lift the stay of its case contesting President Donald Trump's decision to end the de minimis threshold for goods from China. In a text-only order, the trade court said the company's motion for partial summary judgment is stayed pending resolution of V.O.S. Selections v. Donald J. Trump, the lead case on whether Trump can use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs, which is currently being briefed before the Supreme Court (Axle of Dearborn d/b/a Detroit Axle v. United States, CIT # 25-00091).
The Supreme Court on Oct. 23 expanded the time for oral argument in the lead cases on the legality of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, giving each side 40 minutes to make their cases. However, the court said the parties challenging the tariffs, which are two groups of importers and one group of 12 U.S. states, shall split their time evenly between the private parties and the U.S. states (Donald J. Trump v. V.O.S. Selections, U.S. 25-250) (Learning Resources v. Donald J. Trump, U.S. 24-1287).
Two law professors focusing on sanctions law filed an amicus brief at the Supreme Court on Oct. 22 focusing on the history of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The professors, Fordham School of Law's Andrew Kent and University of Virginia School of Law's Paul Stephan, argued that IEEPA, which confers emergency powers for peacetime, doesn't let the president impose tariffs on imports and "stands in contrast" with the Trading With the Enemy Act, which "authorizes war powers" (Donald J. Trump v. V.O.S. Selections, U.S. 25-250) (Learning Resources v. Donald J. Trump, U.S. 24-1287).
Trade Law Daily is providing readers with the top stories from last week, in case you missed them. All articles can be found by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.