The U.S. Supreme Court again on Jan. 20 did not issue a ruling on whether President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs are lawful. The court issued decisions in only three cases, including a medical lawsuit. A decision on tariff measures imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act was not included.

The court did not release a schedule for a future ruling. Reuters reported, "The Supreme Court has not decided the dispute over the legality of President Trump's tariffs." As uncertainty over the tariffs drags on, tensions in global trade markets are also continuing.

The court also signalled rulings on Jan. 9 and Jan. 14. On both occasions, a decision in the reciprocal tariff case was discussed as possible, but only rulings unrelated to tariffs were issued. The U.S. Supreme Court does not say in advance which cases will be decided on which day.

Trump signed an executive order for a "Fair and Reciprocal Trade Plan" in February last year. He defined accumulated trade deficits as a national emergency. Based on IEEPA, he imposed country-specific tariffs on countries with trade surpluses with the United States. Twelve states with Democratic governors and small and mid-sized U.S. importers filed lawsuits.

The dispute is whether the president can exercise taxation powers, an authority unique to Congress, without limit on the grounds of a security crisis. Importers argued that the authority to impose tariffs rests with Congress. Both the trial court and the appellate court ruled against the government.

In the second half of last year, the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals sided with importers, saying IEEPA does not grant the president unlimited taxing power. The Trump administration immediately appealed, and Trump signed more than 35 tariff-related executive orders.

Trump’s position is that he will maintain the tariff policy regardless of the ruling. He is campaigning in public opinion, saying that cancelling reciprocal tariffs would bring disaster to the United States.