The US Supreme Court on Friday struck down President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs in a 6-3 ruling authored by Chief Justice John Roberts. The bench upheld a lower court's decision that the Republican president's use of this 1977 law exceeded his authority.
The majority found that the Constitution “very clearly” gives Congress the power to impose taxes, which include tariffs. “The Framers did not vest any part of the taxing power in the Executive Branch,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, according to a report by Reuters.
Chief Justice John Roberts delivered the opinion of the court. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.
What did US Supreme Court say?
According to a report by The Washington Post, the US apex court held that the US President did not possess the authority under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose extensive import duties on goods from nearly all US trading partners.
Trump had slapped sweeping tariffs on almost all of America's trading partners – invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
The IEEPA is a 1977 law that allows the US President to regulate economic transactions during a declared national emergency.
Earlier, the Trump administration had argued that persistent trade deficits, unfair trade practices and supply-chain vulnerabilities constituted an economic emergency.
Refunds worth $175 billion?
The Donald Trump administration has not released tariff collection data since 14 December.
However, economists at the Penn Wharton Budget Model estimated on Friday that tariffs imposed under IEEPA have generated over $175 billion in revenue. And that amount would likely need to be refunded with the Supreme Court ruling against the IEEPA-based tariffs, reported Reuters.
Earlier, Trump wrote on Truth Social that repaying the money would be “a complete mess” and “almost impossible for our Country to pay”. He said that refunds could run into “many Hundreds of Billions of Dollars” – which is estimated to be over $130 billion, a BBC report, published in January 2026, mentioned.
‘Uncertainty over trade agreements…’
Kavanaugh, who was appointed by Trump during his first term as president, in a written dissent said that IEEPA's text, as well as history and prior Supreme Court rulings, supported the Trump administration's position.
He also claimed that the US Supreme Court's striking down of Trump's tariff regime could generate uncertainty over various trade agreements.
“Because IEEPA tariffs have helped facilitate trade deals worth trillions of dollars—including with foreign nations from China to the United Kingdom to Japan, the Court's decision could generate uncertainty regarding various trade agreements,” Kavanaugh wrote, as per Reuters.
