The US Supreme Court on Friday struck down sweeping global tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. This decision of the US Supreme Court is being considered a major defeat on an important issue of Donald Trump’s economic agenda. The Supreme Court’s decision focuses on tariffs Trump imposed unilaterally under the emergency powers statute, including sweeping reciprocal tariffs imposed on nearly every other country.
The US Supreme Court ruled that under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA), the US President does not have the authority to impose blanket import tariffs on goods coming from almost all US trading partners.
Majority dealt a blow to Trump’s tariffs
The US Supreme Court has abolished Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs with this 6-3 decision. The decision is expected to have a cascading impact on global trade, businesses, consumers, inflation trends and household finances across countries.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote the majority decision and was joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, Justice Elena Kagan, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Justice Clarence Thomas filed the dissenting opinion, and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh and Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. supported him.
A majority of the justices found that the Constitution clearly grants only Congress the authority to impose taxes, including tariffs. Chief Justice Justice John Roberts said in the judgment that the framers of the Constitution did not delegate any part of the taxing power to the executive. And the fact that no President has given such power to IEEPA is strong evidence that it does not exist.
However, in a dissenting decision, Justice Kavanaugh said that the tariffs in question here may or may not be wise policy. But as written, in history, and based on precedent, they are clearly legitimate.
As Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. read the bench’s majority decision, Solicitor General D. John Sawyer, who represented the Trump administration, looked on almost impassively. Sawyer, sitting at the table in front of the judges, had his hands folded, and Roberts’ fingers twitching slightly as he read the verdict. Trump administration officials have asked the court to pursue other legal remedies after the tariffs are repealed.
Congress does not have the right to impose tariffs, not the President.
According to the US Constitution, the right to impose taxes and duties rests not with the President, but with the Congress. However, Trump imposed tariffs on almost all US trading partners by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEPA) without congressional approval. The IEEPA gives the President the authority to regulate commerce only in the event of a national emergency. Trump has also imposed some additional charges under other laws, which have nothing to do with this case. These tariffs account for about a third of the revenue from Trump’s tariffs, according to government data from October to mid-December.
Tariffs recovered amounting to US$134 billion
The financial consequences of this decision are wide-ranging. The disputed tariffs affect trillions of dollars of trade and the US government had collected approximately US$134 billion in duties as of December 14 under the disputed authority.
The Tax Foundation estimates Trump’s trade war will cost every American household about $1,100 in additional spending in 2025, the Washington Post reports. The decision comes days after the US and India announced reaching a framework for an interim agreement on mutually beneficial trade.
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