US Supreme Court strikes down Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs

The US Supreme Court (Rahmat Gul/AP)

The Supreme Court struck down US President Donald Trump’s far-reaching global tariffs on Friday, handing him a significant loss on an issue crucial to his economic agenda.

The 6-3 decision centres on tariffs imposed under an emergency powers law, including the sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs he levied on nearly every other country.

It is the first major piece of Mr Trump’s broad agenda to come squarely before the country’s highest court, which he helped shape with the appointments of three conservative jurists in his first term.

The majority found that the constitution “very clearly” gives Congress the power to impose taxes, which include tariffs.

The framers did not vest any part of the taxing power in the executive branch

“The framers did not vest any part of the taxing power in the executive branch,” chief justice John Roberts wrote.

Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.

“The tariffs at issue here may or may not be wise policy. But as a matter of text, history, and precedent, they are clearly lawful,” Mr Kavanaugh wrote in the dissent.

The tariffs decision does not stop Mr Trump from imposing duties under other laws.

While those have more limitations on the speed and severity of Mr Trump’s actions, top administration officials have said they expect to keep the tariff framework in place under other authorities.

The Supreme Court ruling comes despite a series of short-term wins on the court’s emergency docket that have allowed Mr Trump to push ahead with extraordinary flexes of executive power on issues ranging from high-profile firings to major federal funding cuts.

The Republican president has been vocal about the case, calling it one of the most important in US history and saying a ruling against him would be an economic body blow to the country.

But legal opposition crossed the political spectrum, including libertarian and pro-business groups that are typically aligned with the Republican party.

Polling has found tariffs are not broadly popular with the public, amid wider voter concern about affordability.

The constitution gives Congress the power to levy tariffs. But the Trump administration argued that a 1977 law allowing the president to regulate importation during emergencies also allows him to set tariffs.

Other presidents have used the law dozens of times, often to impose sanctions, but Mr Trump was the first president to invoke it for import taxes.

He set what he called “reciprocal” tariffs on most countries in April 2025 to address trade deficits that he declared a national emergency.

Those came after he imposed duties on Canada, China and Mexico, ostensibly to address a drug trafficking emergency.

A series of lawsuits followed, including a case from a dozen largely Democratic-leaning states and others from small businesses selling everything from plumbing supplies to educational toys to women’s cycling apparel.

The challengers argued the emergency powers law does not even mention tariffs and Mr Trump’s use of it fails several legal tests, including one that doomed then-president Joe Biden’s 500 billion dollar (£370 billion) student loan forgiveness programme.

The economic impact of Mr Trump’s tariffs has been estimated at some three trillion dollars (£2.2 trillion) over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The Treasury has collected more than 133 billion dollars (£98 billion) from the import taxes the president has imposed under the emergency powers law, federal data from December shows.

Many companies, including the big-box warehouse chain Costco, have already lined up in court to demand refunds.