U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Importers' Appeal, Upholds Trump-Era China Tariffs

(Central News Agency, Washington, 15th – comprehensive international report) The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to impose new restrictions on former President Donald Trump’s tariff authority, allowing tariffs on thousands of billions of dollars worth of Chinese imports imposed during his first term to remain unchanged.

According to Bloomberg, the U.S. Supreme Court today rejected an appeal from a group of importers without comment, upholding a 2025 federal appeals court ruling that supported these tariffs.

The central issue in the case was whether the president has the authority to increase tariffs previously imposed under Section 301 of the 'Trade Act of 1974'—originally enacted to address unfair trade practices. A rarely used provision, Section 307 of the same act, authorizes the U.S. Trade Representative to 'modify or terminate' these tariffs.

Importers argued that Trump had overextended the powers granted under Section 307. The tariff was initially targeted only at $50 billion worth of Chinese imports, aimed at pressuring China to change its intellectual property practices. After China retaliated, the Trump administration expanded the scope of the tariffs, ultimately affecting $370 billion worth of goods by 2019.

Customs data shows that under the expanded Section 301 tariffs, importers continue to pay over $35 billion annually in duties.

These businesses told the Supreme Court that Trump attempted to use Section 307 to circumvent the more stringent procedural requirements of Section 301. Importers contended that the modification authority under Section 307 allows for 'minor or moderate changes, not drastic alterations.'

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit rejected this interpretation in September, stating that the term 'modify' 'does not relate to the degree of change and contains no inherent limitation.'

The importers requested that the justices at least order a rehearing, citing the Supreme Court’s February 20 ruling that invalidated Trump’s previous use of federal emergency powers to impose global tariffs.

The Trump administration urged the Supreme Court to uphold the Federal Circuit’s decision, arguing that the president’s modification of previously imposed tariffs after China’s retaliation was fully consistent with Congress’s original legislative intent.

D. John Sauer, the U.S. federal solicitor general, stated: 'It is difficult to imagine a more clearly authorized action under the law.' (Compiled by Chen Yu-Ting) 1150616