United States President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs have been struck down by the country’s apex court
The BBC in a report said it was reading through the ruling now and will publish updates soon
Last year, Trump placed taxes on goods imported into the US, saying it would boost American manufacturing
Instead of getting Congressional approval, the Trump administration used the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Declaring an emergency under the law meant Trump could issue immediate orders and bypass Congress
In August 2025, a US appeals court ruled that most of Trump’s tariffs were illegal, but left them in place
The Supreme Court got involved when the White House requested they overturn that appeals court decision
Court’s decision represents rare check on Trump’s power
Donald Trump had been warning for months that a Supreme Court decision curtailing his ability to impose tariffs would be an “economic and national security disaster” with “catastrophic” consequences.
A six-justice majority of the Supreme Court, in ruling against the president today, didn’t care much about his concerns.
Congress, not the president, has the power to impose tariffs, the justices held. And nothing in the law that the president cited in his legal defence, the Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, delegated such sweeping powers to Trump.
The court’s decision represents a rare check on this president’s broad use of executive authority.
A majority of the justices over the past year have shown a willingness to allow Trump to press ahead with his agenda, particularly on immigration and reshaping the federal government, even as legal challenges work their way through the court system.
This case, considered on an expedited basis, slams the door on one such expansive use of presidential authority.
With several other major cases involving controversial uses executive power – such as efforts to end birthright citizenship and to dismiss a Federal Reserve governor based on alleged improprieties – this may not be Trump’s only setback in the coming months.
