Trump Tariffs Live Updates: Trump Says He Has ‘Backup Plan’ After US Supreme Court Blocks Tariffs

Trump Tariffs Live Updates: In a big blow to Donald Trump, the US Supreme Court on Friday ruled against his global tariffs, saying that they are “illegal” and the President exceeded his authority in imposing a swath of tariffs that shook down the world.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion and the court agreed 6-3 that the tariffs exceeded the law.

“The president asserts the extraordinary power to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration, and scope,” Roberts wrote for the court. “In light of the breadth, history, and constitutional context of that asserted authority, he must identify clear congressional authorization to exercise it.”

While Trump has long used tariffs as a lever for pressure and negotiations, he made unprecedented use of emergency economic powers upon returning to the presidency last year to slap new duties on virtually all US trading partners.

These included “reciprocal” tariffs over trade practices that Washington deemed unfair, alongside separate sets of duties targeting major partners Mexico, Canada and China over illicit drug flows and immigration.

The court on Friday noted that “had Congress intended to convey the distinct and extraordinary power to impose tariffs” with IEEPA, “it would have done so expressly, as it consistently has in other tariff statutes.”

The ruling does not impact sector-specific duties that Trump has separately imposed on imports of steel, aluminum and various other goods. Formal probes which could ultimately lead to more such sectoral tariffs remain in the works.

The Supreme Court’s decision affirms earlier findings by lower courts that tariffs Trump imposed under IEEPA were illegal.

A lower trade court had ruled in May that Trump overstepped his authority with across-the-board levies and blocked most of them from taking effect, but that outcome had been put on hold as the government sought an appeal.