Supreme Court strikes down most of Trump’s tariffs in a major blow to the president

WASHINGTON — Delivering a major blow to President Donald Trump, the Supreme Court on Friday ruled that he exceeded his authority when imposing sweeping tariffs using a law reserved for a national emergency.

The justices, divided 6-3 held that Trump’s aggressive approach to tariffs on products entering the United States from across the world was not permitted under a 1977 law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

The ruling was authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, who was joined by three liberal justices and two fellow conservatives, Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, in the majority.

“The president asserts the extraordinary power to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration and scope,” Roberts wrote. But the Trump administration “points to no statute” in which Congress has previously said that the language in IEEPA could apply to tariffs, he added.

As such, “we hold that IEEPA does not authorize the president to impose tariffs,” Roberts wrote.

Justices Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito dissented.

It is a rare setback for the administration at the Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, since Trump began his second term in January.

The decision does not affect all of Trump’s tariffs, leaving in place ones he imposed on steel and aluminum using different laws, for example. But it upends his tariffs in two categories. One is country-by-country or “reciprocal” tariffs, which range from 34% for China to a 10% baseline for the rest of the world. The other is a 25% tariff Trump imposed on some goods from Canada, China and Mexico for what the administration said was their failure to curb the flow of fentanyl.

Trump could seek to reimpose the tariffs, using other laws.

The Constitution says the power to set tariffs is assigned to Congress. But Trump used IEEPA, which does not specifically mention tariffs but allows the president to “regulate” imports and exports when he deems there to be an emergency due to an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the nation.

Before Trump, no president had ever used that law to tariff imports. Lower courts ruled against the Trump administration in two related cases that were consolidated, with both sides asking the Supreme Court to issue a definitive ruling.

The high-stakes case put the spotlight on a court that was skeptical of President Joe Biden’s unilateral use of executive power, including his attempt to forgive billions of dollars in student loan debt. The court blocked that proposal, citing what has been called the “major questions doctrine,” which holds that Congress must explicitly authorize policies that have a major nationwide impact.

Multiple businesses sued over the tariffs, including V.O.S. Selections Inc., a wine and spirits importer, Plastic Services and Products, a pipe and fittings company, and two companies that sell educational toys. A coalition of states led by Oregon also sued.

As of the middle of December, IEEPA tariffs had raised about $130 billion, according to the latest data available from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Trump has touted much higher numbers, up to $3 trillion, taking into account trade deals his administration has negotiated.