Supreme Court rules Trump’s emergency tariffs are illegal; president speaks

United States Supreme Court Building in Washington DC, USA.
Supreme Court FILE PHOTO (SeanPavonePhoto - stock.adobe.co)

The highest court in the land has ruled that President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs are illegal.

The tariffs, enacted by Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, were a cornerstone for the president’s foreign policy and his administration’s economic agenda, CNN reported.

The president called the ruling “a disgrace” as he hosted breakfast at the White House with governors from across the country, CNN reported.

Update 1:22 p.m. ET, Feb. 20: Trump, speaking to the media, said he was “absolutely ashamed” of the Supreme Court justices who ruled against him, The Associated Press reported.

“They’re very unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution,” he said.

He called the ruling “deeply disappointing.” The president accused the high court of being “swayed by foreign interests,” The New York Times reported. But did not provide any evidence of the allegations.

Trump said he has “great respect” for the justices who were on the dissenting side.

He said, “We have alternatives” that could have the country collect “more money,” The New York Times reported.

“Other alternatives will now be used to replace the ones that the court incorrectly rejected,” Trump said, according to The Washington Post. “We have alternatives, great alternatives. Could be more money. We’ll take in more money. and we’ll be a lot stronger for it.”

He said the alternatives were “approved by the decision” by the court, CNN reported.

The ruling “made a president’s ability to both regulate trade and impose tariffs more powerful and more crystal clear,” he said.

Trump said he could do “anything with IEEPA” other than charge a tariff, including blocking imports.

He said he will be using Section 122 to impose an across-the-board global 10% tariff, the Times noted and Section 301 to investigate unfair trade practices.

Section 122, according to the Times, allows for the tariffs for 150 days without Congressional approval. An extension past that deadline would need a vote in Congress.

Posts on Truth Social were published to Trump’s account as he spoke, echoing his comments in the news conference.

Earlier on Friday, House Speaker Mike Johnson said, “Congress and the Administration will determine the best path forward in the coming weeks,” the AP reported.

Original report: The justices in a 6-3 ruling said that Trump did not have the authority under the 1997 emergency economic powers law to enact the tariffs, The Washington Post reported.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion and was joined by Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, along with the court’s three liberal justices. The dissent was written by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, The Associated Press reported.

Trump appointed Gorsuch, Barret and Kavanaugh to the bench during his first term.

The majority said that the Constitution “very clearly” gives Congress the power to impose taxes, including taxes.

“When Congress grants the power to impose tariffs, it does so clearly and with careful constraints,” Roberts wrote, according to CNN. “It did neither here.”

“We claim no special competence in matters of economics or foreign affairs,” Roberts continued. “We claim only, as we must, the limited role assigned to us by Article III of the Constitution. Fulfilling that role, we hold that IEEPA does not authorize the president to impose tariffs.”

But Kavanaugh wrote in the dissent: “The tariffs at issue here may or may not be wise policy. But as a matter of text, history, and precedent, they are clearly lawful,” the AP reported.

The ruling did not give a plan on what to do with the billions in tariffs that have been collected, CNN reported.

Kavanaugh touched on that in the dissent, writing, “nothing today about whether, and if so how, the government should go about returning the billions of dollars that it has collected from importers.”

He added that “That process is likely to be a ‘mess,’” CNN reported.

The Post said that the decision is expected to affect global trade, consumers, companies and inflation.

The government had already collected almost $134 billion by Dec. 14 under his use of the IEEPA announced on what Trump called “Liberation Day” when he laid out his tariff plan.

Reuters said that the amount is probably closer to $175 billion by now.

The act “gives presidents broad powers to impose economic sanctions during national emergencies, but does not specify those powers include imposing tariffs,” Forbes said.

The Congressional Budget Office said that the tariffs would have a $3 trillion economic impact over the next decade, the AP reported.

Trump can still impose tariffs, but not under the IEEPA that he used to issue the tariffs.

Read the decision here or below:

Check back for more on this developing story.

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