The U.S. Supreme Court declared that President Trump’s tariff policies, imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), are unconstitutional, delivering a major blow to the president’s signature economic policy.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the 6-3 opinion. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.
Writing for the court majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said that Trump lacked peacetime authority to use the IEEPA to impose tariffs.
“In light of the breadth, history, and constitutional context of this claimed authority, he must identify clear congressional authorization to exercise it,” Roberts wrote, concluding that Trump did not.
Trump argued that persistent trade imbalances and the flow of fentanyl entering the country constituted national emergencies and a threat to national security.
During arguments before the court last year, Trump’s lawyers said 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. “It did neither here.”
Justice Kavanaugh, who wrote the principal dissenting opinion, noted that the court’s decision had opened a can of worms.
“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.
Last December, the government collected more than $130 billion in tariff revenue. Kavanaugh pointed out that the “Court says nothing today about whether, and if so how, the government should proceed to refund 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 tariffs around the world scared American businesses, leading to a court challenge claiming that the president exceeded his authority in imposing the tariffs.
In about two dozen previous cases, the Supreme Court has been largely receptive to Trump’s claims of presidential authority, but those victories came on the Supreme Court’s emergency docket, allowing Trump’s policies to go into effect temporarily while litigation unfolds in lower courts.
In contrast, the tariff cases are the real test, with the court having ordered full briefing 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