Posted originally on CTH on November 5, 2025 | Sundance

Today, the Dept of Justice Solicitor General Dean John Sauer provided oral arguments to the Supreme Court in support of President Donald Trump’s tariff authority. The issue at the heart of the matter is the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which grants the president the power to levy tariffs.

Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Sonia Sotomayor, leaned heavily on the argument that tariffs are taxes against the American people, and all taxes must come from Congress.  The ‘tariffs are taxes’ argument seems to be the linchpin for the leftists on the court and the Gorsuch ‘conservatives’.

Solicitor Sauer countered the IEEPA tariffs are “regulations” against foreign imported goods. “The power to impose tariffs is a core application of the power to regulate foreign commerce, which is what the phrase ‘regular importation of commerce’ in IEEPA naturally evokes,” Sauer said.

The full audio of the arguments is provided below. (I’m working on the transcript). WATCH (prompted):

.

It’s not as easy, Chief Justice Roberts said, to simply frame a tariff as a tax – a power reserved to Congress.  “It implicates, very directly, the president’s foreign affairs power,” said Roberts, who is a key vote to watch in the case.

Trump’s tariffs, Roberts said, were “quite effective” in achieving the president’s particular objective.  That position is closely aligned with the administration’s position that a president has broad power in the context of foreign affairs.

The court is expected to hand down a decision by the end of June – or potentially sooner.