In 6-3 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not give the U.S. President the authority to impose wide-ranging tariffs.
In a massive blow to U.S. President Donald Trump’s economic agenda, the United States Supreme Court has ruled 6-3 that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) – which does not mention tariffs – does not give the U.S. President the power to impose tariffs. That had been the centrepiece of Trump’s economic agenda, and he used his supposed wide-ranging tariff authority to coerce and threaten other nations. Of note, other tariffs – including steel and aluminum tariffs – were imposed under different auspices – and are not impacted by the ruling.
Trump has threatened tariffs for a myriad of reasons, including speeches he doesn’t like, phone conversations, social media posts, TV ads, and countless others ‘justifications.’ Trump’s ability to use tariffs without congressional approval – and thus threaten tariffs on a whim – was built on the idea that the IEEPA gave Trump nearly unchecked tariff powers. Now, those powers have been struck down, and with it, a key aspect of Trump’s leverage over other nations.
While the Trump Administration has said it will try to rebuild the tariffs using other means, that process will be much more difficult than the broad invocation of the IEEPA, and the Supreme Court rebuke is a sign of growing pushback to Trump’s authoritarian agenda.
Spencer Fernando
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