WASHINGTON (The Thursday Times) — The US Supreme Court on Friday ruled that President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs were unlawful, striking at the heart of a signature second-term trade strategy that had relied on emergency powers to impose broad import duties on much of the world.
In a 6–3 decision, the Court found that Trump exceeded his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a law historically used for sanctions and targeted emergency economic measures rather than wide tariff regimes. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, framed the tariffs as an action of vast economic and political importance that required clear congressional authorisation, invoking the Court’s “major questions” doctrine.
The ruling invalidates most of the emergency tariffs, including the broad baseline duties that had been applied across imports, and opens the door to a wave of refund claims from businesses that paid the charges while the litigation was underway. Reuters reported that the decision could trigger refunds exceeding $175 billion, underscoring the scale of the policy now thrown into doubt.
The tariffs had been justified by the White House as a response to national emergencies, including fentanyl-related overdose deaths and persistent trade deficits. They were rapidly challenged by small businesses and a coalition of states, with multiple lower courts previously concluding that the emergency-powers law did not authorise tariffs of that magnitude.
The judgement sharply curbs a novel use of emergency authority in trade policy, while leaving open the possibility that future administrations could pursue tariffs through narrower, more established statutory routes that come with greater procedural constraints.
