The U.S. Supreme Court declared President Trump’s tariff policies, imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), unconstitutional, representing a major blow to the president’s flagship economic policy.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the decision by a 6-3 vote. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.
In his majority opinion, Chief Justice John Roberts stated that Trump lacked peacetime authority to use the IEEPA to impose tariffs.
“Given the breadth, history, and constitutional context of this claimed authority, he must present a clear congressional authorization to wield it,” Roberts wrote, concluding that Trump had not done so.
Trump argued that persistent trade imbalances and the massive influx of fentanyl into the country constituted national emergencies and a threat to national security.
During arguments presented to the Supreme Court last year, Trump’s lawyers claimed that the president had authority to impose tariffs. Roberts rejected that argument. “When Congress grants the power to impose tariffs, it does so clearly and with careful restrictions,” he wrote. “Neither happened here.”
Justice Kavanaugh, who wrote the main dissenting opinion, noted that the Supreme Court’s decision had opened a Pandora’s box.
“The United States may be forced to reimburse billions of dollars to importers who paid the IEEPA tariffs, even if some importers have already passed the costs on to consumers or others,” he wrote.
As of last December, the government had collected more than $130 billion in revenue from the tariffs. Kavanaugh pointed out that “the Supreme Court says nothing today about whether, and if so how, the government should proceed to return the billions of dollars it collected from importers.”
At issue in the case was the implementation of Trump’s campaign promise to impose massive tariffs on foreign imports. After taking office, Trump issued an executive order that initially imposed a tariff of at least 10% on goods from most countries that do business with the United States. Goods from countries like China were hit with much higher tariffs—up to 145%, though they have since decreased. Imports from allies like Canada and Mexico were taxed at 25%; Canada’s rate was later increased to 35%.
But the fluctuating and floating tariffs around the world scared American businesses, leading to a lawsuit claiming that the president had exceeded his authority in imposing the tariffs.
In about two dozen prior cases, the Supreme Court had been largely receptive to Trump’s claims of presidential authority, but those victories were on an emergency basis, allowing Trump’s policies to take effect temporarily while litigation proceeded in lower courts.
In contrast, the tariff cases were the real issue, with the court ordering full briefs and expedited arguments in the case, giving the justices the first real opportunity to say “no” to the president.
On Friday, the justices did exactly that.
Source: npr.org