11/06/25 Afternoon CommStock Report – Supreme Court Decides Supreme Tariff Authority with the Fate of the Country at Stake

The opening arguments in the case presented to the Supreme Court over the legality of president Trump’s use of emergency powers to unilaterally declare and impose tariffs, without explicit Congressional approval, appeared to favor the plaintiffs judging by the Justices comments. Congress has given the executive branch emergency powers but these have never been legally defined in context with tariffs until now. The tone of the Justices during the opening arguments, how many questions and to which side they are directed, can be a sign of how they are leaning but it is not definitive. The tone appeared to favor the plaintiffs. No one knows for sure how long it will take for the Justices to render their verdict but it could be months rather than weeks to wait.   President Trump was clearly concerned about this court case as it goes to the heart of his authority to levy tariffs without Congressional approval. No one has taken as much license to do that as this president has. The 1930 Smoot-Hawley tariffs were initiated and enacted by Congress without the initial support of president Hoover who agonized over whether to sign a bill authorizing them but ultimately succumbed to political…