Some Supreme Court cases have the potential to cause sweeping change in the daily lives of millions of Americans. Some test the legitimacy of the court itself. Some determine the balance of power among the three branches of government.
And then there are rare cases that do all three. So it is with Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump and V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump, two cases the justices consolidated for oral argument on November 5. At issue in both is the legality of the worldwide tariffs decreed by President Donald Trump earlier this year.
These two cases present one of the most consequential tests for the Supreme Court since Marbury v. Madison, the 1803 ruling that established the justices’ power to declare laws unconstitutional. Maybe the biggest test.
As Sunday’s tentative trade deal with China—and the sudden levy of an additional 10 percent tariff on Canada—vividly demonstrated, Trump’s assertion of power to impose import duties without a new act of Congress is central to his geopolitical and economic strategies. It gives him the clout to make and unmake policy within a few days, affecting jobs, incomes, and consumer choice around the globe.
But if the court overrules him, he could lose that clout, and all his deals with China might be rendered moot. The government might have to pay back billions already collected.
