Trump doesn't want Blackfeet Nation to intervene in tariff suit

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(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump's legal team at the Department of Justice asked the Supreme Court on Thursday to block a request from Blackfeet Nation members to intervene in the high-profile case that could determine the fate of Trump's economic agenda and potentially affect nations around the globe.

Montana state Sen. Susan Webber, rancher Jonathan St. Goddard, and Rhonda and David Mountain Chief asked the nation's highest court to intervene in the case because Trump's tariffs "directly burden cross-border commerce of these tribal plaintiffs, who operate small businesses and family ranches near the U.S.-Canada border."

"This case presents unique and crucial issues that are distinct from those already before the court," Webber's attorney, Monica Tranel, wrote in the request. "These claims are not merely about the commercial legality of tariffs but are rooted in fundamental constitutional principles and a unique body of federal Indian law."

Trump's team said Webber shouldn't be allowed to intervene at this point, suggesting that Webber file a friend-of-the-court brief in the case instead. 

"So even if the Court were interested in addressing any unique circumstances or arguments that movants might raise, the prudent course would be to permit the lower courts to address them first – not to grant intervention now," Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote in response on behalf of the administration.

Webber's attorney said the issues were distinct. 

"The Indian Commerce Clause grants Congress the exclusive power to regulate commerce with Indian Tribes," Tranel wrote. "This is a distinct power from regulating commerce with foreign nations or among the states. The President has no authority to impose tariffs on Indian Tribes, which includes the individuals that comprise the Tribes."

Trump used a 1977 law that doesn't mention tariffs to reorder global trade through tariffs to try to give U.S. businesses an advantage in the world market. Using tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Trump hit nearly every nation with import duties of at least 10%. Some countries face higher rates, up to 50%.

Two lower courts have already said the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act doesn't give the president unbounded tariff authority. In late August, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a previous lower court ruling, but said Trump's tariffs could remain in place while the administration appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court. In the 7-4 decision, the majority said that tariff authority rests with Congress.

The Supreme Court ordered on Tuesday that the case be heard on an expedited schedule. Opening briefs are due by Sept. 19, and oral arguments are set for the first week of November.

New tariffs raised $80.3 billion in revenue between January 2025 and July 2025 before accounting for income and payroll tax offsets, according to an analysis of federal data from the Penn Wharton Budget Model.

Trump has said he wants to use tariffs to restore manufacturing jobs lost to lower-wage countries in decades past, shift the tax burden away from U.S. families and pay down the national debt.

A tariff is a tax on imported goods paid by the person or company that imports the goods. The importer can absorb the cost of the tariffs or try to pass the cost on to consumers through higher prices.

Economists, businesses and some public companies have warned that tariffs could raise prices on a wide range of consumer products.