US Supreme Court rules Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs were illegal

Friday 20 February 2026 3:17 pm
 |  Updated: 

Friday 20 February 2026 3:39 pm

Breaking News: Trump’s tariffs have been struck down by the top US court.

The US Supreme Court has handed down a landmark ruling that the sweeping tariffs President Donald Trump imposed on trading partners last year were illegal.

Justices were weighing up a case centred around the Emergency Economic Powers Act that allows a President to regulate imports during a national emergency.

The White House had argued the act authorised Trump to impose his ‘Liberation Day‘ levies without any clear limits on the scope of duration.

But on Friday the Supreme Court – which has a 6-3 Conservative majority- struck down the tariffs which could pose major financial consequences for the Trump administration. All three liberal justices – Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor – voted against the tariffs and they were joined by Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch and John Roberts.

Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented.

The President had previously warned of a “complete mess” should he lose the case and warned the US would be forced to “unwind” trade deals.

Trump has yet to react to Friday’s decision.

Trump’s emergency authority ‘falls short’

Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote the decision, said: “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 authorisation to use it.”

The court said the emergency authority the President had intended to rely on “falls short”.

The historic ruling will raise questions of the economic implications for the Trump administration as it opens the door to refunds for affected importers through the US Customs and Border Protection Agency, who have been paying the duties over the last year.

Tariffs covered in Friday’s ruling from the US top Court include Trump’s first trade offensive in February 2025 to tax goods from China, Mexico and Canada as he argued the drug trafficking from the countries constituted an emergency.

He renewed this line of reasoning in April, where he launched his ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs, which ranged from 10 to 50 per cent levies on goods across the globe. The move came as Trump branded the US trade deficit – where the country imports more than it exports – as an “extraordinary and unusual threat”.

A number of tariffs are not included in the ruling, however, including those on industry-specific steel, aluminium, lumber and automotive tariffs, which were implemented under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, with the White House arguing national-security concerns.

This is a breaking news story and is being updated.