Could most of the tariffs with which President Donald Trump has shocked the world actually be illegal? Sometime in the coming months, the Supreme Court might provide an answer. Meanwhile, the task of managing the U.S. economy will become all the more difficult.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal District has given Trump until Oct. 14 to appeal its ruling that he overstepped his authority in imposing tariffs under the International Emergency Economics Powers Act. If the Supreme Court concurs — Congress, after all, has the sole constitutional power to tax and spend — the proportion of U.S. imports subject to the levies could drop to about 16% from nearly 70%, according to the Tax Foundation.

Yet Trump needn’t give up there. He could impose tariffs on the grounds of national security

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