Supreme Court Slaps Down Trump And His Tariffs In Historic Ruling

The Supreme Court struck down most of the “emergency” tariffs that President Donald Trump foisted on the world, in an extraordinary 6-3 decision on Friday that upholds a key separation of powers.

The ruling held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, did not authorize the president to impose tariffs and remanded the case with instructions to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction.

“Based on two words separated by 16 others in Section 1702(a)(1)(B) of IEEPA — ‘regulate’ and ‘importation’ — the President asserts the independent power to impose tariffs on imports from any country, of any product, at any rate, for any amount of time. Those words cannot bear such weight,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion.

The justices took a convoluted path to a majority, with Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson concurring in part or in all. Justices Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh and Samuel Alito dissented.

During oral arguments on Nov. 5, justices clearly signaled their skepticism as they grilled Solicitor General John Sauer over Trump’s invocation of the 1977 IEEPA to uniformly impose tariffs on global trading partners without checks by Congress.

With the high court’s ruling, the Trump administration could face a costly prospect it has tried to stave off since the summer: refunds.

A U.S. appeals court ruled in August that most of Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs were illegal but opted to pause the start of any refund process until the Supreme Court weighed in.

For the small-business owners who sued the administration, the question of refunds is baked into Friday’s victory. “The interim effects of the Court’s decision could be substantial,” Kavanaugh wrote in his dissent. “The United States may be required to refund billions of dollars to importers who paid the IEEPA tariffs, even though some importers may have already passed on costs to consumers or others. As was acknowledged at oral argument, the refund process is likely to be a ‘mess.’”

The path ahead is unclear: There are other statutes Trump can rely on to impose tariffs, but they come with regulatory oversight by Congress and involve proving discrimination against American trade by foreign partners and more.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.