The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday scheduled oral arguments for Nov. 5 in a case challenging the legality of Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, a major test of one of the Republican president’s boldest assertions of executive power and a pillar of his economic and trade agenda.
The justices announced earlier this month that they would hear the case after a lower court ruled that Trump overstepped his authority in imposing most of his tariffs under a federal law meant for emergencies.
The court, which begins its next nine-month term on Oct. 6, also agreed to hear at the same time a separate challenge to Trump's tariffs brought by a family-owned toy company, Learning Resources.
In V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump [consolidated with Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump], small businesses and several states argue that President Trump overstepped his power by imposing sweeping, global tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act [IEEPA] of 1977.
In May 2025, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled that these “Liberation Day” tariffs were unlawful because IEEPA does not authorize tariffs of this scale and without clear limits, and permanently blocked enforcement. The government appealed. In August, an en banc decision from the Federal Circuit affirmed that Trump had exceeded his statutory authority under IEEPA.
The central legal issues are whether IEEPA gives sufficient authority for such broad tariff powers, and whether delegating that power without clear constraints violates constitutional principles like the nondelegation doctrine and the major questions doctrine.
Newsmax wires contributed to this report.
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