The United States Supreme Court ruled on Friday (20) that President Donald Trump violated federal law by unilaterally imposing broad trade tariffs, in a significant defeat for the White House on a central issue of its economic and foreign policy.
By six votes to three, the majority of ministers concluded that the measures exceeded the legal limits of presidential authority. The opinion was written by the President of the Court, John Roberts, who stated that the Chief Executive cannot impose tariffs of “unlimited value, duration and scope” without clear authorization from Congress, highlighting the scope and constitutional context of the claimed power.
The decision is considered Trump’s most significant defeat in court during his second term. The previous year, the same Supreme Court — with a conservative majority — had repeatedly sided with the president in emergency decisions related to issues such as immigration, dismissal of heads of independent agencies and cuts in federal spending.
