Supreme Court Strikes Down Trump’s Tariffs

By Rob Bates | February 20, 2026

The U.S. Supreme Court today struck down the sweeping tariffs that President Trump imposed under a 1977 law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), arguing that the administration exceeded its authority in doing so.

The 6–3 opinion, credited to Chief Justice John Roberts, noted that “IEEPA contains no reference to tariffs or duties.” Roberts added it’s “telling that in IEEPA’s half century of existence, no president has invoked the statute to impose any tariffs, let alone tariffs of this magnitude and scope.”

While this ruling strikes down most of the recent U.S. “reciprocal” tariffs—including the 18% levy on Indian imports and 15% tax on Swiss imports—the administration could, and likely will, try to impose tariffs via other means.

“There is a number of different authorities they can use to reenact these tariffs,” Sara Yood, president and CEO of Jewelers Vigilance Committee, tells JCK.

Those mechanisms come with greater constraints, though: One, for instance, subjects the tariffs to time constraints and caps them at 15%.

“The administration was using the IEEPA law in a way that gave them broad authority to do whatever they wanted,” Yood says. “What this ends is the dramatic rate changes that the president was using to get countries to come to this table. We hope this means there will be a little more predictability.”

However, she notes that “the end result might be similar to what we have seen over the last year. Fifteen percent is pretty close to where most of the tariffs are. So this ends the IEEPA tariffs, but it does not end the administration using tariffs as a trade policy.”

Yood is not yet sure when the tariffs will be removed. “We are waiting for word from Customs on that,” she says.

Another big question: What about refunds for already paid tariffs? Now that they have been deemed illegal, companies who have paid the taxes since April will theoretically have the right to get their money back. That means the government might have to return some $175 billion.

“The majority opinion says nothing about the refunds, so it is not immediately clear,” says Yood. “The Court of International Trade will likely be the venue for any decisions for how and if any refunds are distributed.”

In his dissent, justice Brett Kavanaugh stated that the refund process will put a burden on the government and is likely to be a “mess,” given that many businesses have already passed on the extra costs to consumers.

There was no official reaction to the ruling from the White House at press time, though President Trump reportedly called the ruling a “disgrace.”

(Photo: Getty Images)