U.S. Supreme Court casts doubt on legality of Trump's global tariffs

Conservative and liberal justices alike sharply questioned the lawyer representing Trump's administration about whether a 1977 law meant for use during national emergencies gave Trump the power he claimed to impose tariffs or whether the Republican president had intruded on the powers of Congress. But some of the conservative justices also stressed the inherent authority of presidents in dealing with foreign countries, suggesting the court could be sharply divided in the outcome of the case. Trump invoked IEEPA in slapping tariffs on goods imported from individual countries to address what he called a national emergency related to U.S. trade deficits, as well as in February as economic leverage on China, Canada and Mexico to curb the trafficking of the often-abused painkiller fentanyl and illicit drugs into the United States.