Washington DC: In a major blow to US President Donald Trump, the Supreme Court on Friday struck down the global tariffs and said that the president is not authorised to issue taxes or tariffs. However, Trump had imposed some tariffs under other laws; those were not part of the case before the court.
The top court ruled that Trump exceeded his authority when imposing sweeping tariffs using a law reserved for a national emergency. The verdict was divided 6-3 and authored by Chief Justice John Roberts.
The justices 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 law, passed in 1977, allows a president to regulate trade during a national emergency but does not explicitly mention tariffs.
“In light of the breadth, history, and constitutional context of that asserted authority, he must identify clear congressional authorisation to exercise it," the Chief Justice remarked. “We hold that IEEPA does not authorise the president to impose tariffs."
Since taking office in January 2025, Trump invoked IEEPA in an unprecedented way by declaring national emergencies related to the US trade deficit, illegal immigration and drug trafficking, and imposed tariffs on several trading partners, including India, in a bid to “revive" the US economy.
The US Constitution grants Congress, and not the president, the authority to issue taxes and tariffs. However, Trump used tariffs as a key economic and foreign policy tool.
Trump had described the tariffs as important for US economic security. He claimed that the country would be defenceless and ruined without them.
