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Tariffs

Toy Manufacturers Challenge Trump's Tariffs Program, Seeking Expedited Supreme Court Review

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

The Supreme Court has been asked by two toy manufacturers to expedite their case and rule on whether Congress authorized President Trump's tariffs program. In an unusual request, Learning Resources and hand2mind are seeking to use a rare procedure to bypass the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and have the Supreme Court review their case as early as September or October. The companies argue that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the law Trump relied on, does not authorize tariffs, and that no president has ever invoked it to impose a single tariff or duty in its nearly 50-year history.

Key Takeaways:

  • The two toy manufacturers, Learning Resources and hand2mind, are challenging President Trump's tariffs program, arguing that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize tariffs.
  • The companies have won in front of a district court judge, but are seeking to bypass the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and have the Supreme Court review their case.
  • The companies are using an unusual procedure called "certiorari before judgment" to expedite their case, which was previously rare and used only in national crises.
  • Since 2019, the Supreme Court has used this procedure at least 19 times, according to statistics compiled by Stephen Vladeck, a law professor at Georgetown University.
  • The toy companies are arguing that Trump's tariffs program is unprecedented and not authorized by the law, which has a nearly 50-year history.
  • A separate and broader challenge to the administration's tariffs program is currently being heard in the Court of International Trade, and the Federal Circuit is set to hear arguments in that case next month.
  • The Supreme Court is likely to take up one or both of these cases once the appeals courts have ruled.

Statistics:

  • 50 years: the nearly 50-year history of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, during which no president has invoked it to impose a single tariff or duty.
  • 19: the number of times the Supreme Court has used the "certiorari before judgment" procedure since 2019, according to Stephen Vladeck's statistics.
  • 2019: the year when the Supreme Court started using the "certiorari before judgment" procedure again, after not using it for 15 years.

Sources:

  • "The New York Times"
  • Georgetown University law professor Stephen Vladeck.

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