Today, February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s tariffs — a major impact to the Administration’s economic program.

 

The 6-3 decision is impactful on executive powers. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch joined the court’s three liberals in the majority.

 

“The President asserts the extraordinary power to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration, and scope. In light of the breadth, history, and constitutional context of that asserted authority, he must identify clear congressional authorization to exercise it,” Roberts wrote, declaring that the 1977 law the Administration cited to justify the import duties “falls short” of the Congressional approval that would be needed.

 

The ruling wipes out the 10 percent tariff the Administration imposed on nearly every country in the world, as well as specific, higher tariffs on some of the top U.S. trading partners, including Canada, Mexico, China, the European Union, Japan and South Korea. Several of those countries have entered trade agreements with the U.S. — and before the ruling indicated that they would continue to honor those agreements.

 

It undercuts his ability to impose tariffs on a whim to address geopolitical conflict — like a threat to impose tariffs on countries that do business with Iran — and to threaten tariffs as he tries to gain a better negotiating position — like his tariff threats in an attempt to acquire Greenland. Businesses had decried those “national security” tariff threats for fueling economic uncertainty, but the administration said they were necessary for achieving its policy goals.

 

But the majority of the justices rejected arguments from the Administration and their dissenting colleagues that the court should defer to the Administration because of the role tariffs play in foreign relations. “Whatever may be said of other powers that implicate foreign affairs, we would not expect Congress to relinquish its tariff power through vague language, or without careful limits,” Roberts wrote.

 

In a visit to Georgia Wednesday, President Trump touted a steel business he said had been able to boost production because of his widespread use of tariffs, questioned why the Supreme Court would rule against him and needled the justices for taking months to resolve the issue. The federal government could now be forced to issue billions of dollars in refunds to companies that paid the tariffs the high court ruled illegal. Many companies have already sued to protect their refund claims in the event the court struck down the tariffs.

 

At the WWEMA Annual Meeting last November, our speaker on this topic, made mention of the difficulty of refunds should this decision happen. The majority opinion made no mention of the battle over refunds, but Justice Brett Kavanaugh predicted some chaos in his dissent. “The United States may be required to refund billions of dollars to importers who paid the IEEPA tariffs, even though some importers may have already passed on costs to consumers or others,” Kavanaugh wrote. “The refund process is likely to be a ‘mess,’” he added, quoting an exchange the justices had on the issue during oral argument in November.

The ruling also raises questions about the future of trade deals that the Administration has struck with the European Union, Japan, South Korea and other trading partners to reduce the tariffs he targeted at their exports to the United States.