US Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs

The US Supreme Court has struck down former President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariff regime, ruling that the measures exceeded presidential authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977.

The tariffs, announced on April 2 and branded as “Liberation Day” duties, imposed a flat 10% levy on all imports into the US, along with steeper country-specific tariffs ranging from 15% to 50%. Several of these rates were later revised through negotiations.

In a 6–3 ruling, the court held that the US Constitution assigns taxing powers — including tariffs — exclusively to Congress. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts stated that the Constitution “did not vest any part of the taxing power in the Executive Branch.”

Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh dissented. Kavanaugh said the tariffs may be debatable as policy but argued they were lawful based on legal text and precedent, warning that refunding already-paid duties could become a “mess.”

US stock markets reacted positively, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 posting immediate gains.

Importantly, the ruling does not bar Trump from imposing tariffs using alternative statutory authorities.

The ruling did not clarify whether businesses will be entitled to recover the billions of dollars already paid in duties, US media outlets reported citing the order. Several companies including US warehouse retailer Costco and Chinese carmaker BYD have begun seeking refunds through the courts. In his dissent, Justice Brett Kavanaugh cautioned that any repayment effort could prove highly complex.

“The Court offers no guidance on whether the government must refund the vast sums collected from importers, or how such a process should work,” Kavanaugh wrote, as per an Al Jazeera report adding that arguments heard by the court suggested the outcome would likely be a “mess.”

( This is a developing story.)