Law360 Quotes Devin Sikes on Supreme Court Appeal to Undo Steel and Aluminum Tariffs

Devin Sikes, counsel in the international trade practice at Akin Gump, has been quoted in the Law360 article “It’s Now Or Never In Push To Undo Trump’s Security Tariffs,” which reports on the ongoing battle over President Trump’s use of a national security law to impose sweeping tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

As Law360 notes, the Supreme Court is being asked to hear a case that would determine the constitutionality of using Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to set such levies. Steel importers argue that the law violates the so-called nondelegation doctrine by effectively giving away congressional trade authority to the White House.

“We are talking about an issue that is at the intersection of national security and executive branch power,” said Sikes. “Historically, the Supreme Court has been hesitant to wade too quickly into such issues. That’s one reason that would militate against the justices granting cert.”

Sikes also pointed to the ongoing effort by Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley to propose a bill that would reform Section 232 by giving lawmakers a role in administering national security tariffs. Any bill, Sikes said, would have to gather enough support to override a likely veto from Mr. Trump, which complicates any legislative strategy to reform the law. The mere hint of pending legislative action, though, could still give the justices pause, Sikes said.