US Supreme Court rules against Trump’s sweeping tariffs

In a consequential decision with billions of dollars on the line, the US Supreme Court on Friday upheld a lower-court ruling, striking down US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, paving the way for massive refunds of well over US$100 billion already paid by trade partners and the likelihood of a tumultuous adjustment.The 6-3 decision in the nine-justice conservative majority of the Supreme Court is the most significant legal setback yet for the administration that has broadly accepted Trump’s expansive view of executive power.“The judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit … is affirmed,” the order said.The court held that Trump’s use of a “national emergency” under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act was not justified.“IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs”, the order said.The IEEPA is a 1977 law allowing a US president to impose economic measures during a national emergency to address an “unusual and extraordinary threat”.Three members of the court’s conservative bloc, Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh, dissented.