Trump says he won’t attend Supreme Court hearing on his tariffs

President Trump reversed course Sunday, posting on social media that he won’t attend Supreme Court arguments on Wednesday concerning legal challenges to his tariffs.

The president had previously said he had “an obligation” to attend the oral arguments. 

Mr. Trump would have become the first president in recent history to attend a Supreme Court hearing.

“I will not be going to the Court on Wednesday in that I do not want to distract from the importance of this Decision,” Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social on Sunday.

“Tariffs have brought us Great Wealth and National Security in the nine months that I have had the Honor to serve as President. The Stock Market has hit All Time Highs many times during my short time in Office, with virtually No Inflation, and National Security that is second to none,” the president’s post continued. 

“Our recent successful negotiation with China, and many others, put us in a strong position only because we had Tariffs with which to negotiate fair and sustainable Deals. If a President was not able to quickly and nimbly use the power of Tariffs, we would be defenseless, leading perhaps even to the ruination of our Nation.”

Last month, Mr. Trump seemed eager to go to the hearing.

“It’s one of the most important decisions in the history of the Supreme Court, and I might go there. I really believe I have an obligation to go there,” Mr. Trump had said at the time.

But some legal experts have suggested the move could appear as intimidation, or trying to influence the justices’ decision in the case. 

The justices will hear two cases, Trump v. V.O.S. Selections Inc. and Learning Resources Inc. v. Trump.

At issue in Wednesday’s arguments are a series of global tariffs Mr. Trump declared, as well as specific levies on China, Mexico and Canada that the president imposed because he said he didn’t see enough action being taken to curb the flow of fentanyl into the U.S.

Tariffs are a tax on foreign goods that are brought into U.S. markets. The importer of record, often a U.S. company, pays the duty and not foreign governments.

Mr. Trump says he’s acting under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to issue the tariffs. He says the trade deficit and the flow of fentanyl both trigger emergency tariff powers under that law.

The law doesn’t actually use the word tariffs, but U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer says it does grant the president the ability to “regulate importation,” which is good enough.

The challengers, though, say the move exceeds the president’s authority and that only Congress can authorize tariffs. 

A series of lower courts disagreed. They include a district court, the U.S. Court of International Trade and the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

A decision will not be issued the day of the hearing, Nov. 5, but is expected to come by the end of June. 

• Stephen Dinan and Thomas Howell Jr. contributed to this report.