By Amofokhai Williams
The US Supreme Court has delivered a significant setback to President Donald Trump’s economic agenda by striking down his sweeping global tariffs in a 6-3 ruling on Friday.
The decision invalidates the president’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977 to impose broad tariffs on imports from nearly every country, declaring that the law does not authorize the president to levy such duties.
Chief Justice John Roberts authored the majority opinion, joined by conservative Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch, along with the court’s three liberal justices: Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor. Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.
The ruling targets tariffs enacted under IEEPA, including: The so-called “Liberation Day” tariffs announced in April 2025, which imposed a baseline 10% duty on goods from most countries worldwide, with higher “reciprocal” rates on specific nations (such as up to 34% or more on major partners like China); earlier levies from February 2025 on China, Mexico, and Canada, justified by claims of national emergencies related to drug trafficking (particularly fentanyl) and migration.
These measures aimed to reduce the US trade deficit, protect domestic manufacturing, raise government revenue, and pressure foreign governments on issues like border security.
Trump has long championed tariffs as a tool to counter what he describes as unfair trade practices and foreign exploitation of the US economy.
However, the court emphasized that the Constitution assigns Congress, not the president, the primary authority to regulate commerce and impose tariffs.
The justices held that IEEPA, designed for responding to genuine national emergencies through measures like asset freezes or financial restrictions, cannot be stretched to grant unlimited tariff powers without clear congressional delegation.
The BBC reports that the decision does not affect all of Trump’s tariffs. Industry-specific measures, such as those on steel, aluminum, lumber, and automobiles, remain in place, as they were imposed under different statutes like Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which cites national security concerns.
Market reaction was swift and positive, with Wall Street indexes rising in early trading: the S&P 500 up around 0.45%, Nasdaq up 0.42%, and Dow Jones up 0.07%.
