Trump Tried It With the Tariffs — Court Said Nah

The U.S. Supreme Court just told former President Donald Trump he went too far with some of his biggest tariffs. In a 6–3 decision, the Court ruled that Trump could not use a 1977 emergency powers law — the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) — to put sweeping taxes on imports from around the world.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion, saying the president does not have unlimited power to impose tariffs without Congress clearly approving it.

Here’s what those tariffs looked like: there was a 10% baseline tariff on goods coming in from most countries. Imports from China were hit much harder — at one point reaching as high as 145% before being reduced. Certain goods from Mexico and Canada faced 25% tariffs, with Canada’s rate later rising to 35% in some cases.

Businesses argued the constant changes made it hard to plan and raised costs. The Supreme Court agreed the president overstepped by using an emergency law that doesn’t specifically mention tariffs.

Now, this doesn’t wipe out every tariff from Trump’s time in office — some were put in place under different laws and still stand. But this ruling is a big reminder of something simple: the Constitution gives Congress the power to set tariffs, not the president alone.

Translation? Even when it comes to global trade, there are limits to executive power.

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