WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court was hearing arguments on Wednesday over the legality of Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs in a case with implications for the global economy that marks a major test of the Republican president’s powers and the willingness of the justices to let him push the limits of his authority.

The arguments come in appeals pursued by the Trump administration after lower courts ruled that his unprecedented use of a 1977 federal law meant for national emergencies to impose the tariffs exceeded his authority. The challenge involves three lawsuits brought by businesses affected by the tariffs and 12 U.S. states, most of them Democratic-led.

Trump has heaped pressure on the Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, to preserve tariffs that he has leveraged as

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