WASHINGTON | The Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s far-reaching global tariffs on Friday, handing him a stinging loss on an issue crucial to his economic agenda.
Furious about the defeat, Trump said he will impose a global 10% tariff as an alternative while pressing his trade policies by other means. The new tariffs would come under a law that restricts them to 150 days.
He made that announcement after lashing out at the Supreme Court for striking down much of his sweeping tariff infrastructure as an illegal use of emergency power. Trump said he was “absolutely ashamed” of justices who voted to strike down his tariffs and called the ruling “deeply disappointing.”
“Their decision is incorrect,” he said. “But it doesn’t matter because we have very powerful alternatives.”
COLORADO COMMENT
Rep. Jason Crow, D-Aurora: “Donald Trump’s tariffs are a tax on every American. They’ve raised costs on Colorado families, threatened small businesses, and hit working Americans the hardest. Today’s decision reaffirms what the Constitution has said all along: these tariffs are illegal and unconstitutional. The ruling is a relief for working families that Donald Trump has turned his back on, and it sends a message to this President that he is not king. Trump, J.D. Vance, and Republicans said they would lower prices. But instead they cut health care, passed tax giveaways for the richest Americans, and have protected the corrupt elite.”
Gov. Jared Polis: “America is back on the global stage. Now we can sell our made in America and grown in America products and buy what we want from across the world with lower taxes. Today the Supreme Court said loud and clear: only Congress has the authority to impose taxes, including tariffs. For too long, Colorado businesses, farmers, and consumers have felt the devastating cost of Trump’s tariff taxes that increased prices, disrupted supply chains, and delayed investment. By blocking these sweeping tariffs, the Court has helped create certainty for America’s trade partners, restored stability to our economy and protected Americans from hundreds of billions of dollars in increased costs. Our economy will grow more and we will all prosper from this decision. We will always stand up for Coloradans, economic growth, and policies that help working families get ahead rather than make everyday life more expensive”
Rep. Brittany Petterson, D-Lakewood: “The Supreme Court’s decision confirmed what we all already knew – Trump’s tariffs are ILLEGAL. The Supreme Court has done what it’s supposed to do by finally putting a check on Donald Trump’s lawlessness and complete abuse of power. I’ve heard from small business owners who can barely keep the lights on and pay their employees because they’ve been hit with tens of thousands of dollars of unexpected costs because of whatever tweet Trump sent that day. He also used the threat of tariffs to enrich himself by giving preference to countries who bought his scam coin. Trump is a disaster for this country and families who are already struggling to make ends meet. I’m hopeful that this SCOTUS decision is the beginning of putting a desperately needed check on an unhinged president.”
Colorado Democratic Attorney General Phil Weiser: “The Supreme Court today made it clear that a federal emergency powers law does not give the president the authority to impose sweeping tariffs on trading partners. Tariffs are taxes passed onto consumers who then pay higher prices for food, appliances, electronics, and other goods. These illegal tariffs also force businesses, farmers, and ranchers to make major decisions to save costs or stay afloat. President Trump’s ever-changing tariffs create economic chaos and jack up prices while many Coloradans stretch to meet their budgets, so today’s court decision is a victory and will provide relief for the American people. We recognize that this administration is likely to continue to act in defiance of the law. During oral argument in this case, for example, the government’s lawyers told the court that a loss would not stop the president from imposing tariffs under other federal laws. We cannot have national trade policy decided on a whim, without any justification, and in defiance of the law. Under the Constitution, only Congress has the power to tax and impose tariffs. It’s time for Congress to do its job and stop this president from abusing power and further harming Americans. And if Congress fails to act and do its job, we’ll be back in court.”
The court’s 6-3 decision centers on tariffs imposed under an emergency powers law, including the sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs he levied on nearly every other country.
His loss before the conservative-majority high court came despite a series of short-term Trump wins that have allowed him to move ahead with key aspects of his broad agency.
It’s the first major piece of Trump’s broad agenda to come squarely before the nation’s highest court, which he helped shape with the appointments of three conservative jurists in his first term.
The majority found that it’s unconstitutional for the president to unilaterally set and change tariffs because taxation power clearly belongs to Congress. “The Framers did not vest any part of the taxing power in the Executive Branch,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote.
Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.
“The tariffs at issue here may or may not be wise policy. But as a matter of text, history, and precedent, they are clearly lawful,” Kavanaugh wrote.
Trump called the majority decision “a disgrace” when he was notified during his morning meeting with several governors, according to someone with direct knowledge of the president’s reaction who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversation.
Trump was meeting privately with nearly two dozen governors from both parties when the decision was released.
The court majority did not address whether companies could get refunded for the billions they have collectively paid in tariffs. Many companies, including the big-box warehouse chain Costco, have already lined up in lower courts to demand refunds. Kavanaugh noted the process could be complicated.
“The Court says nothing today about whether, and if so how, the Government should go about returning the billions of dollars that it has collected from importers. But that process is likely to be a ‘mess,’ as was acknowledged at oral argument,” he wrote.
The Treasury had collected more than $133 billion from the import taxes the president has imposed under the emergency powers law as of December, federal data shows. The impact over the next decade was estimated at some $3 trillion.
The tariffs decision doesn’t stop Trump from imposing duties under other laws. While those have more limitations on the speed and severity of Trump’s actions, top administration officials have said they expect to keep the tariff framework in place under other authorities.
Still, the decision is a “complete and total victory” for the challengers, said Neal Katyal, who argued the case on behalf of a group of small businesses.
“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,” he said.
It wasn’t immediately clear how the decision restricting Trump’s power to unilaterally set and change tariffs might affect trade deals with other countries.
“We remain in close contact with the U.S. Administration as we seek clarity on the steps they intend to take in response to this ruling,” European Commission spokesman Olof Gill said, adding that the body would keep pushing for lower tariffs.
The Supreme Court ruling comes despite a series of short-term wins on the court’s emergency docket that have allowed Trump to push ahead with extraordinary flexes of executive power on issues ranging from high-profile firings to major federal funding cuts.
The Republican president has been vocal about the case, calling it one of the most important in U.S. history and saying a ruling against him would be an economic body blow to the country. But legal opposition crossed the political spectrum, including libertarian and pro-business groups that are typically aligned with the GOP. Polling has found tariffs aren’t broadly popular with the public, amid wider voter concern about affordability.
While the Constitution gives Congress the power to levy tariffs, the Trump administration argued that a 1977 law allowing the president to regulate importation during emergencies also allows him to set import duties. Other presidents have used the law dozens of times, often to impose sanctions, but Trump was the first president to invoke it for import taxes.
“And the fact that no President has ever found such power in IEEPA is strong evidence that it does not exist,” Roberts wrote, using an acronym for the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Trump set what he called “reciprocal” tariffs on most countries in April 2025 to address trade deficits that he declared a national emergency. Those came after he imposed duties on Canada, China and Mexico, ostensibly to address a drug trafficking emergency.
A series of lawsuits followed, including a case from a dozen largely Democratic-leaning states and others from small businesses selling everything from plumbing supplies to educational toys to women’s cycling apparel.
The challengers argued the emergency powers law doesn’t even mention tariffs and Trump’s use of it fails several legal tests, including one that doomed then-President Joe Biden’s $500 billion student loan forgiveness program.
The three conservative justices in the majority pointed to that principle, which is called the major questions doctrine. It holds 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. The three liberal justices formed the rest of the majority, but didn’t join that part of the opinion.
The Trump administration had argued that tariffs are different because they’re a major part of Trump’s approach to foreign affairs, an area where the courts should not be second-guessing the president.
But Roberts, joined by Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, brushed that aside, writing that the foreign affairs implications don’t change the legal principle.
Small businesses celebrated the ruling, with the National Retail Federation saying it provides “much needed certainty.”
Ann Robinson, who owns Scottish Gourmet in Greensboro, North Carolina, said she was “doing a happy dance” when she heard the news.
The 10% baseline tariff on U.K. goods put pressure on Robinson’s business, costing about $30,000 in the fall season. She’s unsure about the Trump administration’s next steps, but said she’s overjoyed for now. “Time to schedule my ‘Say Goodbye to Tariffs’ Sale!”
Associated Press writers Mae Anderson and Steve Peoples in New York, Mark Sherman in Washington and David McHugh in Frankfurt contributed to this report.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.
President Trump has been masterful in his use of tariffs to protect the American worker, create fair trade, stop wars and assert American influence around the globe. Hopefully he can find a way around this ruling like Biden did with student loan forgiveness.
This POtuS has been shameful in his use of tariffs to harm American workers, consumers and small businesses (all businesses for that matter), cause many allies to enact other trade agreements that exclude America, and significantly diminish and hurt America’s reputation and reliability around the world.
I didn’t vote for him but clearly he’s been an innovator in the diplomatic use of tariffs to try and end the warfare in Ukraine. Congress needs to back him on this.
Those on the left: Would you really prefer warfare to tough diplomacy? Ukraine and Gaza both blew up under Biden so think carefully before you answer.
Good lord man, you’re insane with your boot licking. Tariffs get passed onto the consumers with price increases. We pay tariffs. They’re a tax on US citizens.
And now that they’ve finally been declared illegal (which they were from the start), the companies who raised their prices and passed the costs on to us are going to get refunds from the government. We’re not going to get the money Trump stole from us back. Companies are. And they’ll pay their execs millions with the refunds, keep prices elevated, and continue screwing us with higher prices.
Tariffs screwed us all.
Of course tariffs get passed onto consumers, similar to a tax. Since when have Democrats been against tax increases. They fought to the death to prevent the tax reductions in the Big Beautiful Bill. Democrats regularly clamor for higher taxes for corporations, which also get passed onto consumers. Remember Joe Biden walking the picket lines with union auto workers who were striking. Guess who paid the costs of their wage increases – we the consumer. It added to the costs of our new and used vehicles. Tariffs always add to costs, but in return, they protect American workers by leveling the playing field so they can’t be undercut by cheap foreign labor and end up losing their jobs as a result. Protecting a nation’s workforce is the main reason for tariffs, but Trump has expanded their use to influence other nations. And keep in mind, even with these tariffs, inflation remains tame at just over 2%, which is normal.
Don’t mistake me – I reluctantly support this Supreme Court’s decision despite the fact it handicaps President Trump. Not all future Presidents will have the ability and acumen of President Trump and the Supreme Court needs to make decisions with a long-term view. I just think it is unfortunate given President Trump’s skilled use of this tool. Using access to the greatest consumer economy in the world to influence other nations is far better than using troops.
“Ability”? “Acumen”?
Are you high?
I can’t help but ask, what planet do you live on?
Finally, SCOTUS weighed in on a basic rule in the separation of powers. Anyone who can read knows that the Legislative branch was given the power of taxation and spending, not the executive branch! I’m sure that the feckless House and Senate will attempt to prop Trumpty Dumpty’s idiotic tariffs, but it will just be another nail in the utterly ineffective GOP’s coffin!
Mikey – Somehow I don’t remember you posting about separation of powers when Biden was cancelling student loan debts. You state, “Anyone who can read knows that the Legislative branch was given the power of taxation and spending, not the executive branch!” Cancelling debt is equivalent to spending. I smell another double standard.