The Supreme Court of the United States has delivered a landmark decision striking down sweeping global tariffs imposed by Donald Trump, ruling that the president exceeded his constitutional authority under a 1977 emergency powers law.
The justices issued a 6–3 decision concluding that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not authorise the executive to levy broad import taxes on trading partners without clear congressional approval.
The case, officially consolidated under Learning Resources v. Trump and related docket challenges , focused on whether the president could use IEEPA to impose tariffs on goods from virtually all U.S. trading partners, including so-called “reciprocal” duties aimed at correcting trade imbalances.
The Court determined that because the U.S. Constitution grants Congress, not the executive, the power to levy taxes and tariffs, Trump’s use of emergency authority for such broad economic levies was unlawful.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, emphasising that if Congress had intended to grant tariff authority to the presidency under IEEPA, it would have done so explicitly, as it has in other specific tariff statutes. Because IEEPA’s language does not expressly authorise tariffs, the Court held that its use in this context stretched executive power beyond constitutional bounds.
The ruling follows a series of lower court decisions that challenged the tariffs as unconstitutional. In May 2025, the U.S. Court of International Trade and later the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found that Trump’s use of IEEPA to impose sweeping “Liberation Day” and other broad levies exceeded statutory authority, reinforcing the principle that major economic decisions require clear congressional delegation.
Trump had argued that the tariffs were necessary to protect American industry, address longstanding trade deficits and respond to national economic emergencies. The administration’s legal justification centred on the idea that IEEPA enabled broad regulatory action in the face of “unusual and extraordinary” economic threats, a rationale the Court rejected, saying it would upend the separation of powers that places fiscal authority with Congress.
The decision is a rare high-profile rebuke of a central component of Trump’s economic policy. The tariffs, which raised duties on imports from dozens of countries, had already disrupted global supply chains and provoked sharp reactions from trading partners. Critics argued the measures contributed to higher prices for U.S. consumers and strained diplomatic relations.
Although the ruling blocks the broad authority to impose tariffs under IEEPA, it does not affect all trade levies. Sector-specific tariffs, such as those imposed on steel and aluminum under other statutory authorities, remain in place, and the administration has indicated it may explore alternative legal frameworks to retain some tariff measures while complying with the Supreme Court’s interpretation.
The decision also raises complex questions about refunds for billions of dollars in tariff revenues already collected under the now-invalidated tariff regime. Businesses that paid the tariffs may pursue reimbursement claims, and legal experts predict extended litigation over how the ruling will be implemented in practice.
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