President Donald Trump said Tuesday he will seek an expedited Supreme Court review to decide whether his “Liberation Day” tariffs on more than 90 U.S. trading partners are legal.
The announcement comes days after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit struck down most of Trump’s tariffs, ruling that his use of emergency powers to impose sweeping import duties exceeded presidential authority. The court reaffirmed an earlier decision from the U.S. Court of International Trade but allowed the tariffs to remain in place while the legal battle continues.
Trump unveiled his “Liberation Day” tariffs on April 2, with implementation beginning in early August after multiple delays. The ruling is a setback for Trump, but the tariffs will stay in effect until at least Oct. 14.
Trump said that the U.S. could be forced to “unwind” trade deals with the European Union, Japan, and South Korea if the Supreme Court upholds the lower court rulings.
“If we don’t win that case, our country is going to suffer so greatly,” he told reporters Tuesday, according to CNBC. “If you take away tariffs, we could end up being a third-world country.”
The Trump administration had leaned on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to justify the tariffs, arguing that the law gave the president authority to impose country-specific import duties if deemed necessary to address a national emergency.
Tariff revenue has already reached $142 billion, with the White House collecting more than $30 billion a month, CNBC reported.
For importers, the stakes are high. Mike Short, president of global forwarding at brokerage giant C.H. Robinson, said businesses are particularly concerned about potential refunds.
“If the Supreme Court upholds the lower courts’ decision, it remains unclear whether their ruling will require retroactive refunds of duties already paid or only block tariffs on future shipments,” Short told FreightWaves in an email. “If refunds are ordered, Customs may process them automatically — or brokers may face a flood of additional work to secure them, doubling workloads overnight.”
Short added that companies should prepare for continued trade turbulence, regardless of how the case is resolved. Section 232 investigations are still active across industries including lumber, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, trucks, seafood, and critical minerals. Those reviews could quickly trigger new tariffs, as seen with the 50% duties added to imports of steel, aluminum and copper in July.
“The reality is that tariff volatility has become the new normal,” Short said. “Companies are not only adjusting short-term tactics, like frontloading shipments, but also rethinking long-term supply chains and sourcing strategies. Increasingly, they want us to move beyond discussion and accelerate execution.”
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