Supreme Court Rules 6-3 That Trump Cannot Use Emergency Law for Tariffs

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Friday that President Trump exceeded his authority when he used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose sweeping tariffs, striking down a centerpiece of his trade policy, according to NPR, NBC News and the Associated Press. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, joined by the three liberal justices and conservatives Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, NBC reported. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.

Roberts wrote that the president “must identify clear congressional authorization” for such power, concluding that Trump had not, NPR reported. “We hold that IEEPA does not authorize the president to impose tariffs,” he wrote, NBC said, adding that the administration “points to no statute” where Congress had said the law’s language could apply to tariffs. The AP wrote that the justices noted the Constitution “very clearly” gives Congress, not the president, the power to impose taxes, including tariffs, and that Roberts said the fact no president has ever found such power in the law is “strong evidence that it does not exist.” NBC and CNBC noted that before Trump, no president had used the statute to impose tariffs.

Kavanaugh wrote the principal dissent. “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,” he wrote, per the AP. He also wrote that the ruling “is not likely to greatly restrict Presidential tariff authority going forward” outside the emergency-law context, NBC reported. Trump had argued that trade imbalances and the flow of fentanyl were national emergencies, NPR and the AP reported; the AP said the court dismissed his contention that the trade deficit qualified.

The ruling does not touch tariffs imposed under other laws. NBC said Trump’s ability to impose tariffs under other laws is not affected and that he plans to use those authorities to impose new duties globally, while the AP wrote that other tariffs he imposed relied on other justifications and are not affected.

Refunds are unresolved. The court did not address whether importers get their money back, NPR, NBC and the AP reported. Kavanaugh wrote that the court “says nothing today about whether, and if so how, the Government should go about returning the billions of dollars that it has collected,” NBC and NPR reported, and that the refund process is likely to be “a mess,” CNBC and PBS (AP) said. The IEEPA tariffs had raised about $130 billion as of mid-December, according to NBC and NPR, and the Penn Wharton Budget Model estimated refunds could reach $175 billion, per CNBC. Hundreds of companies have already sued, NBC reported, and Costco is among those seeking refunds, per the AP.

Trump called the decision “deeply disappointing” and said he was “ashamed of certain members of the court,” NPR reported. NBC quoted him calling it a “disgrace to our” nation and describing the justices in the majority as “very unpatriotic and disloyal to the Constitution.” He said he planned to seek alternatives, NPR reported. He said he would sign an executive order Friday to continue tariffs under alternative authorities, including a 10 percent global tariff, NPR and NBC reported. NBC said the White House cited Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which NPR noted allows tariffs of up to 15 percent for 150 days before Congress would have to approve them.

Opponents welcomed the decision. We Pay the Tariffs, a group of small businesses, called it a “tremendous victory” for companies hurt by the tariffs, the AP reported, and NBC said it called for a “full, fast and automatic” refund process.