Washington (EFE).- The United States Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the government overstepped with the emergency powers invoked by President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on many of the country’s trading partners, in a major blow to the president’s tariff policy.
With a clear 6-3 majority, the conservative-dominated Supreme Court handed Trump one of the first major setbacks of his second term, reversing the favorable trend on other key issues.
Chief Justice John Roberts, representing the majority, indicated that the government does not have inherent powers in peacetime to impose tariffs based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977, which Trump invoked as the foundation for his trade war.
The Supreme Court ruled that Trump’s use of this legislation would entail an excessively broad delegation of the taxing power reserved for Congress under the Constitution, since the Court considers tariffs to be a type of tax on citizens.
Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Brett Kavanaugh dissented, they considered that the president should not be limited in these matters, as they think the IEEPA can be used for foreign policy issues.
The decision against Trump’s tariff-imposing powers does not prevent him from imposing duties under other laws.
Administration officials have already stated that they expect to maintain the president’s tariff framework using alternative legal bases. However, it is unclear whether importers who paid the high tariffs will be able to request and receive refunds equivalent to several billion dollars.
Trump insisted that it would be “very disappointing” if the Supreme Court deemed a significant portion of the tariffs illegal.
According to him, the tariffs are key to his administration’s economic success and foreign policy leverage.
The president acknowledged that “it would be a complete mess, and almost impossible for our Country to pay,” and return the collected amounts to importers.
Brussels urges the US to lower tariffs
As of Friday, the European Commission called on the US to reduce tariffs after the Supreme Court ruling.
“Businesses on both sides of the Atlantic depend on stability and predictability in the trading relationship. We therefore continue to advocate for low tariffs and to work towards reducing them,” said European Commission Trade Spokesperson Olof Gil.
Gil added that Brussels is analyzing the ruling and is in contact with the US administration to determine how it will implement it.
In Aug. 2025, a Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of two small importing companies in a lawsuit against Trump, deciding that he did not have the right to impose the so-called “reciprocal tariffs.”
These tariffs range from 50%, imposed on imports from Brazil and India, to a minimum of 10%, imposed on imports from the United Kingdom and most Latin American countries.
The Court also ruled that Trump lacked the authority to implement the 25% tariff on certain products from Canada, China, and Mexico.
However, the Court avoided freezing the tariffs’ implementation to give the federal government time to take the case to the Supreme Court. EFE
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