The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that many of President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs were illegal, dealing a blow to a core part of his economic agenda.
The court ruled in a 6-3 opinion that tariffs passed under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act would be “a transformative expansion of the President’s authority over tariff policy” against the explicit restrictions laid out by Congress in bills. The law gives the president power to regulate several economic transactions if they declare the country is in a “national emergency.”
Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh opposed the decision.
“The president asserts the extraordinary power to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration, and scope. In light of the breadth, history, and constitutional context of that asserted authority, he must identify clear congressional authorization to exercise it,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote on the court‘s behalf.
The court’s decision reflects a rare rebuke of Trump’s power from the nation’s highest judicial body after months of legal wins. It also introduces a new period of uncertainty as the U.S. may be on the hook for billions of dollars in refunds to companies that paid the tariff rates throughout 2025.
The White House did not respond to an immediate request for comment. The Trump administration’s top trade negotiator, Jamieson Greer, told the New York Times the government would immediately seek alternatives to the 1977 law if the court struck the tariffs down.
Trump cited an authority under the 1977 act to impose his reciprocal tariffs last year, which he said would reduce the U.S. trade deficit and increase U.S.-based manufacturing. He has also used the duties as bargaining chips in trade deals, negotiating with countries to lower their tariff rates while threatening other countries with higher rates if they did not bend to his policy proposals.
Trump’s proposed tariffs also extended across industries, from semiconductors to movies made outside of the U.S. Trump claimed in September that foreign countries were stealing movies “like candy from a baby“ and said he would impose a 100% tariff on all films made outside America. The tariffs never came to pass, though Trump told the California Post last month that he still sought to impose them.
