Supreme Court strikes down Trump’s sweeping tariffs

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs on Friday, handing him a major loss in a case crucial to his economic agenda.

Resolution 6-3 focuses on the tariffs imposed under the Emergency Powers Act, including the sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs it imposed on almost every other country.

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It is the first major piece of Trump’s broad agenda to go directly before the nation’s highest court, which he helped shape by appointing three conservative jurists in his first term. Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh dissented from the decision.

The Republican president spoke loudly about this case, calling it one of the most important cases in the history of the United States, and said that a ruling against him would be an economic blow to the country. But opposition to the law has crossed the political spectrum, including libertarian and pro-business groups that typically side with the Republican Party. Polls have found that the tariffs are deeply unpopular with the public, amid broader voter concern about affordability.

The Supreme Court’s ruling comes despite a series of short-lived victories on the court’s emergency docket, which allowed Trump to press ahead with unusual flexibility from the executive branch on issues ranging from the firings of high-profile figures to deep cuts in federal funding.

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The tariff decision does not prevent Trump from imposing tariffs under other laws. While these restrictions have more limits on the speed and severity of Trump’s actions, senior administration officials said they expect the tariff framework to be maintained under other authorities.

The Constitution gives Congress the power to impose tariffs. But the Trump administration said a 1977 law that allows the president to regulate imports during emergencies also allows him to set tariffs. Other presidents have used the law dozens of times, often to impose sanctions, but Trump was the first president to use it to tax imports.

Trump imposed what he described as “reciprocal” tariffs on most countries in April 2025 to address the trade deficit, which he declared a national emergency. This came after he imposed tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico, ostensibly to address a drug trafficking emergency.

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A flurry of lawsuits followed, including one from dozens of largely Democratic-leaning states and others from small companies that sell everything from plumbing supplies to educational toys to women’s cycling clothing.

The challengers argued that the emergency powers law doesn’t even mention tariffs and that Trump’s use of it failed several legal tests, including one that gutted then-President Joe Biden’s $500 billion student loan forgiveness program.

The economic impact of Trump’s tariffs is estimated at $3 trillion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Federal data from December showed that the Treasury Department collected more than $133 billion in import taxes imposed by the president under the Emergency Powers Act. Several companies, including the large warehouse chain Costco, have already lined up in court to demand refunds.
This story is evolving and will be updated.