A political and economic earthquake rocked Washington as the United States Supreme Court struck down unilateral global tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, dealing a blow to his trade offensive.
The 6–3 ruling delivered on Friday affirmed a lower court’s position that Trump’s reliance on the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to roll out the tariffs was unlawful.
According to the justices, the president overstepped his constitutional boundaries by using a law crafted for genuine national emergencies as a tool to impose broad import taxes without approval from Congress.
Chief Justice John Roberts, who authored the majority opinion, made it clear that executive power has limits — especially when it comes to taxation.
Citing established precedent, Roberts wrote that “the president must ‘point to clear congressional authorization’ to justify his extraordinary assertion of the power to impose tariffs. He cannot”.
The decision stands as a powerful constitutional rebuke and carries sweeping implications for US trade policy and the global economy.
Tariffs had become a signature weapon in Trump’s economic and foreign policy arsenal, particularly during his second term.
The measures triggered renewed global trade tensions, rattled financial markets, strained alliances with key trading partners and deepened economic uncertainty worldwide.
