9th Circuit Sets Sept. 17 Oral Argument Date in Pair of IEEPA Tariff Appeals
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit set the oral argument date regarding two appeals against the legality of President Donald Trump's tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act for Sept. 17. The 9th Circuit will be the second circuit court to hear arguments on the validity of the tariffs following the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on July 31 (see 2506100076) (State of California v. Trump, 9th Cir. # 25-3493) (Susan Webber v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 9th Cir. # 25-2717).
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
However, the 9th Circuit will hear the case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit hears the IEEPA tariff suit on its docket, since the D.C. Circuit set a Sept. 30 oral argument date (see 2507030052). The 9th Circuit oral argument will be held in Seattle at 1 p.m. EDT.
One of the appeals before the 9th Circuit was brought by the State of California, which is appealing the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California's dismissal of its tariff suit. The California court said the case properly belongs in the Court of International Trade (see 2506030020). However, the federal district court dismissed the case rather than transfer it to CIT, per California's request, allowing the state to appeal the decision of CIT's jurisdiction, which hinges on whether IEEPA provides for tariffs.
The other appeal was brought by various members of the Blackfeet Nation tribe in Montana. In that case, the Montana district court transferred the case to the trade court, similarly finding that the case belongs at CIT. Notably, the case was transferred and not dismissed, leading the U.S. to argue that the suit is not procedurally ripe for appeal (see 2504250063).
The Federal Circuit appeal is primarily being heard on the merits of the parties' claims against the IEEPA tariffs following CIT's decision in the case to vacate Trump's executive orders implementing the tariffs (see 2505280068). The D.C. Circuit appeal will center on whether IEEPA categorically allows for tariff action or not, since the district court held that it doesn't (see 2505290037).