Which Trump's tariffs are gone? US Supreme court ruling explained

The Supreme Court gave a major blow to U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday, February 20, ruling 6-3 that he exceeded his authority with the imposition of tariffs using the 1977 emergency law.

Chief Justice John Roberts, along with three liberal justices and conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, authored the majority opinion.

Robert wrote: “The president asserts the extraordinary power to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration, and scope.”

While imposing the tariffs,the  Trump administration “points to no statute” where Congress authorised such use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

“We hold that IEEPA does not authorise the president to impose tariffs,” Roberts concluded.

Additionally, Kavanaugh warned the ruling could require returning “billions of dollars that it has collected from importers.”

Which tariffs were struck down?

The tariffs that went down are:

Country-by-country “reciprocal” tariffs

These are completely ruled out. The tariffs ranged from 34% on Chinese goods to a 10% baseline tariff on imports from most nations. The aim of the tariff was to reduce the trade deficit, but the court said Trump lacked authority under the 1977 IEEPA.

Fentanyl-related tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico

A 25% tariff was imposed on goods from Canada, China, and Mexico, claiming they failed to stop fentanyl from entering the U.S. The court stated that IEEPA’s utilisation was not permitted.

Which tariffs remain?

Steel and Aluminium tariffs

These tariffs remain because Trump imposed them under different laws, such as Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which enables tariffs for national security reasons.

What about refunds?

Companies have paid the now-invalidated tariffs that may be eligible for refunds. Justice Brett Kavanaugh noted in his dissent that the ruling “says nothing about whether, and how, if so, the Government should go about returning the billions of dollars that it has collected from importers.”