Developing: Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump's Tariffs in Landmark 6-3 Ruling — President Fires Back With New 10% Global Levy
The United States Supreme Court delivered a historic rebuke to President Donald Trump's trade agenda on Friday, ruling 6-3 that his sweeping global tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were unconstitutional. The decision, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts and joined by two Trump-appointed justices, found that the president had overstepped his authority by imposing import duties without explicit congressional authorization — a power the Constitution reserves for the legislative branch. Hours after the ruling, a visibly agitated Trump held a White House press conference in which he called the decision "terrible" and said he was "absolutely ashamed" of the justices who voted against him, including his own appointees Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, whom he labeled "fools and lapdogs." He then signed a proclamation imposing a new 10% global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 — a never-before-used provision that limits duties to 15% for a maximum of 150 days. The ruling opens the door to potentially $175 billion in refunds to importers who paid the now-invalidated tariffs, according to an estimate by the Penn Wharton Budget Model, and introduces fresh uncertainty into a global trade landscape that has been roiled by over a year of escalating tariff wars. Markets reacted with cautious optimism, with the S&P 500 closing up approximately 0.7%, even as businesses warned that the path forward remains far from clear.