The US Supreme Court delivered a major blow to President Donald Trump, ruling that his administration’s sweeping global tariffs were imposed without lawful authority, a decision that could expose the US government to tens of billions of dollars in refunds.
In a 6-3 verdict, the top court held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not empower the president to unilaterally impose broad tariffs.
The law, enacted in 1977, allows the executive to regulate certain international economic transactions during a national emergency but does not extend to blanket tariff measures, the court said.
Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.
Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said Congress has historically delegated tariff powers only in “explicit terms and subject to strict limits."
Allowing the president to invoke IEEPA to impose tariffs at will, he warned, would amount to a “transformative expansion" of executive authority.
“The United States, after all, is not at war with every nation in the world," Roberts noted, underscoring the court’s rejection of the administration’s national emergency justification.
With the court ruling that the tariffs were imposed unlawfully, they would lose legal force.
US Customs and Border Protection would be required to stop collecting the duties, while enforcement actions tied to those tariffs could be suspended or dropped altogether.
The bigger question now is refunds. US companies that paid billions of dollars in duties could seek rebates for tariffs already collected.
Source: World News in news18.com, World Latest News, World News
