A demonstrator protests outside the Supreme Court in Washington on Wednesday, November 5, 2025.Image: keystone
November 5, 2025, 7:26 p.mNovember 5, 2025, 7:26 p.m
Since Wednesday, the US Supreme Court has been dealing with one of the most important issues of US President Donald Trump’s second term in office: tariff policy. An oral hearing began before the Supreme Court on the question of whether Trump could use an emergency law to impose far-reaching import surcharges on trading partners worldwide.
Lower courts had declared Trump’s actions illegal. The tariffs are a central part of Trump’s economic policy under the motto “America first”. He accuses the EU and other trading partners of having “ripped off” the USA for years with their export surpluses.
The President therefore warned the Supreme Court in advance against a negative decision. If tariffs were eliminated, the United States would become a “third world country,” he claimed. Then billions in revenue would be lost and the domestic industry would be unprotected.
Trump administration lawyer John Sauer told the Supreme Court that lifting the tariffs would have “catastrophic consequences for the economy and national security” and expose the U.S. to “merciless trade retaliation” from other countries.
Police officers stand in front of the Supreme Court during the hearing Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, in Washington.Image: keystone
US companies are suing
Smaller US companies, including a toy retailer and a wine retailer, have sued against the Trump tariffs and are suffering from higher import costs. In addition, twelve US states have gone to court. It will probably be months before a decision is made. The Supreme Court is made up of six conservative and three progressive justices and had previously given Trump preliminary support on a number of issues.
Last Friday, an appeals court declared a large part of the import tariffs imposed by Trump to be illegal. The President is not authorized to impose such far-reaching tariffs, only Congress in Washington is, explained the appeals court in the capital Washington, which is responsible for trade issues, among other things.
Trump invoked a 1977 emergency law (IEEPA) when imposing the tariffs. The appeals court explained that this law gives the US President “broad powers” to respond to a “declared national emergency”. However, these did not expressly contain the authority to “levy customs duties, taxes or the like”.
Demonstrators protest in front of the Supreme Court in Washington, DC, USA, on November 5, 2025. Image: keystone
High tariffs against Switzerland
The issue before the Supreme Court is the punitive tariffs that Trump imposed on numerous countries in several steps from the beginning of April – and which are generally applied to all types of imported goods. A general tariff rate of 15 percent applies to the EU. Higher industry-specific tariffs on aluminum, steel and cars, for example, are not affected.
An even higher general tariff rate applies to Switzerland than to the EU and a number of other countries. Trump imposed import tariffs of 39 percent on most goods from Switzerland. These have been in effect since August 7th. The import of pharmaceutical products has not yet been subject to tariffs. (sda/awp/afp)