Trump tariffs struck down by US Supreme Court, ruling them as unconstitutional

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s far-reaching global tariffs on Friday, according to a report from the Associated Press.

The court’s 6-3 decision centers on tariffs imposed under an emergency powers law, including the sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs he levied on nearly every other country.

The majority of the nine justices found that it’s unconstitutional for the president to unilaterally set and change tariffs because taxation power clearly belongs to Congress. “The Framers did not vest any part of the taxing power in the Executive Branch,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote.

Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.

“The tariffs at issue here may or may not be wise policy. But as a matter of text, history and precedent, they are clearly lawful,” Kavanaugh wrote in the dissent.

At a press conference at the White House, Trump said as an alternative he will impose a global 10% tariff that would come under a law that restricts them to 150 days. He also is looking at other means to impose them.

Hawai‘i’s U.S. Sen. Mazie K. Hirono praised the high court’s decision Friday morning.

“Today, the Supreme Court affirmed what we’ve known all along, these tariffs are not only reckless, they are illegal,” Hirono stated.

For the past year, Hirono said, Trump’s tariffs have “wreaked havoc on small businesses and driven up costs for consumers, while doing nothing to help the U.S. economy.”

She said the tariffs never were meant to help the American people.

“They were conceived as another lever for Trump to consolidate power and intimidate our global partners — including some of our closest allies,” Hirono stated.

The Hawai‘i democrat went on to say the ruling is an important step forward for American consumers and businesses, and also for the rule of law.

“Now that the Court has ruled, this regime needs to expeditiously reimburse the businesses who have borne the cost for Trump’s disastrous trade war and lay out a plan to actually address the affordability crisis facing millions of Americans,” Hirono stated. “The President must not seek to reimpose these tariffs using the pretext of some other authority.”

As a member of the Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship, Hirono has been outspoken against the Trump Administration’s global tariffs and their impacts on small businesses in Hawai‘i and throughout the country.

In May, Hirono introduced the Small Business Liberation Act, legislation that would exempt the more than 34 million U.S. small businesses from the “overly broad, reckless global tariffs” imposed by President Trump. In September, the Hawai‘i lawmaker also introduced the Small Business RELIEF Act, which would reimburse those businesses for costs incurred due to the tariffs.

In addition to legislation, Hirono has stood with plaintiffs suing the Trump administration for losses they’ve accrued because of the tariffs and signed onto multiple amicus briefs advocating for relief.