Tariffs: US Supreme Court rules Trump’s tarriffs illegal
Tariffs: US Supreme Court delivers major setback to Trump’s trade policy
The US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that ‘reciprocal’ tariffs imposed by the American president were illegal. And Trump lashed out, ‘I can destroy the country.’
CNN • February 21, 2026 ~ FoxNews
The US Supreme Court on Friday, February 20, delivered a legal, political and economic earthquake. The justices struck down a large portion of the tariffs the White House had imposed on almost all of the rest of the world.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion and the court agreed 6-3 that the tariffs exceeded the law. The court, however, did not say what should happen to the more than $130 billion in tariffs that has already been collected.
“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.”
With this ruling, the US’s highest court, with its majority of conservative justices, stripped the White House of a central pillar of its economic policy, put the brakes on the expansion of executive power at Congress’s expense and ushered in a period of deep uncertainty for global trade.
The emergency authority Trump attempted to rely on, the court said, “falls short.”
Trump received the news of the tariffs in a note while he was meeting with governors at the White House on Friday morning. After he read the note, he said aloud “that’s a disgrace” and then left the room shortly after, according a governor in the room.
At a news conference Friday afternoon, the president criticized the justices — two of whom he appointed — who ruled against him.
“The Supreme Court’s ruling on tariffs is deeply disappointing, and I’m ashamed of certain members of the court, absolutely ashamed for not having the courage to do what’s right for our country,” Trump said in the White House briefing room.
Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch, both Trump appointees, joined with Roberts and the three liberal justices in the majority. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.
No clarity on returning money
The 6-3 majority offered no clarity on the specific practical question of what to do with the money the administration has already collected through Trump’s tariffs. The issue of refunds has loomed large over the case, with Trump administration officials saying that potential repayments could have devastating consequences for the US economy.
As of December 14, the federal government had collected $134 billion (or $175 billion as Boomberg says) in revenue from the tariffs being challenged from over 301,000 different importers, according to United States Customs and Border Protection data as well as a recent filing submitted by the agency to the US Court of International Trade.
That question will likely need to be sorted out by lower courts.
In his dissent, Justice Brett Kavanaugh noted that the court said “nothing today about whether, and if so how, the government should go about returning the billions of dollars that it has collected from importers.”
“That process is likely to be a ‘mess,’” Kavanaugh sumed up the show.
“For the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations. As thou hast done, it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head” Obadiah 1:15
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