The Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs on Friday in a 6-3 decision, finding that the president violated the Constitution by unilaterally imposing duties without Congressional authority. The ruling prompted Trump to attack the justices he appointed as “disloyal” and to pledge new tariffs under a different law.
The decision marks the first major Trump policy to be rejected outright by the Court in his second term. At stake are roughly $133 billion in tariffs the Treasury has already collected, which importers are seeking to recover through the courts, and Trump’s broader attempt to reshape post-World War II trade relationships.
The Court’s Reasoning
The Supreme Court’s six-justice majority found that Trump’s tariffs, imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, violated the Constitution because the president does not have the power to levy taxes. Chief Justice Roberts wrote that the Framers “did not vest any part of the taxing power in the Executive Branch.”
The decision applied the major questions doctrine, a legal principle holding that Congress must clearly authorize actions of major economic and political significance. “There is no exception to the major questions doctrine for emergency statutes,” Roberts wrote.
Trump’s Immediate Response
Trump responded within hours, calling justices “disloyal to our Constitution” and “lapdogs.” Despite the loss, Trump said the ruling “doesn’t matter because we have very powerful alternatives.”
He pledged to impose a new global 10 percent tariff under a separate law restricted to 150 days that has never previously been used for tariffs. Vice President JD Vance called the ruling “lawlessness” on social media.
Three Justices Dissent
Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Samuel Alito, and Clarence Thomas dissented. Kavanaugh wrote a 63-page dissent arguing that the tariffs were constitutional “as a matter of text, history, and precedent,” which Trump later praised as “genius.”
Kavanaugh raised a practical concern in his dissent: the refund question. He noted that the process of returning billions of dollars collected from importers “is likely to be a ‘mess.’”
The Scope of the Tariff Program
Trump’s tariff program was vast. The Treasury collected more than $133 billion from import taxes as of December. Economists estimated the impact over the next decade at roughly $3 trillion.
Trump had set his “reciprocal” tariffs on most countries in April 2025, declaring trade deficits a national emergency. Earlier, he imposed duties on Canada, China, and Mexico, ostensibly to address a drug trafficking emergency.
Who Challenged the Tariffs
Opposition to the tariffs crossed the political spectrum. Libertarian and pro-business groups typically aligned with the Republican Party joined the challenge alongside a coalition of small businesses and Democratic-leaning states.
Neal Katyal, who argued the case on behalf of small businesses, called the ruling “a complete and total victory for the challengers.”
“It’s a reaffirmation of our deepest constitutional values and the idea that Congress, not any one man, controls the power to tax the American people,” Katyal said.
Business and International Response
Small business owners expressed relief. Rick Woldenberg, CEO of the toy company Learning Resources, said he expects Trump’s administration will try to impose new tariffs but hoped for “more constraint in the future, both legal and political.”
“Somebody’s got to pay this bill,” Woldenberg said. “Those people that pay the bill are voters.”
Anne Robinson, who owns Scottish Gourmet in Greensboro, North Carolina, said the 10 percent baseline tariff on U.K. goods had cost her business about $30,000 during the fall season. “Time to schedule my ‘Say Goodbye to Tariffs’ Sale!’” she said.
The European Commission said it remained in close contact with the Trump administration, seeking clarity on what comes next, and said it would continue to press for lower tariffs.
What Remains Unclear
The Supreme Court did not address whether businesses could obtain refunds for the billions they have paid in tariffs. Major retailers, including Costco, have already filed suits in lower courts demanding repayment.
The decision does not prevent Trump from imposing duties under other laws. Those alternatives have more limitations on how quickly and severely the president can act, but Trump said they would still allow him to “charge much more” than before.
The question of whether Trump’s prior tariffs remain valid until refund litigation concludes remains unclear. Treasury officials have not announced a timeline for responding to the ruling.
Generated by Main Street Independent’s News Article Generator under CC0. Framework specification at /methodology. This article traces all factual claims to the Associated Press article published February 20, 2026. Hedging language from the source material is preserved. Every named person or organization is sourced.