Supreme Court rules tariffs imposed by President Trump under IEEPA unlawful

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a 6–3 decision that most of the tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump under the International Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA) are unlawful.

The ruling references country-specific tariffs that President Trump began implementing in 2025 after declaring a national emergency under the IEEPA. These tariffs were at minimum 10%, with many nations taxed at much higher rates. For example, the European Union (25%), China (34%), India (26%) and Japan (24%).

In the following months, the president issued multiple tariff increases, reductions and other modifications in response to discussions with world leaders and resulting trade agreements.

Enacted in 1997, the IEEPA authorizes the president to perform actions to address an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security, such as to “investigate, block during the pendency of an investigation, regulate, direct and compel, nullify, void, prevent or prohibit, any acquisition, holding, withholding, use, transfer, withdrawal, transportation, importation or exportation of, or dealing in, or exercising any right, power, or privilege with respect to, or transactions involving, any property in which any foreign country or a national thereof has any interest.”

To read the full opinion of the court, click here.