Major blow to President; US Supreme Court strikes down Global tariffs, says Donald Trump exceeded authority

WASHINGTON: In a major blow to President Donald Trump, the US Supreme Court has struck down the tariffs imposed on countries including India. The court ruled that the president's decision to sharply increase import duties on products from various countries, adversely affecting the global trade sector, was an overreach of his authority. Six of the nine-judge panel took a stand against Trump.

The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977 does not authorise the President to impose tariffs. The court took a strong stance against the misuse of economic laws for trade interests. The Supreme Court had taken a favorable stance on Trump last year on immigration, firing the heads of independent government agencies, and reducing government spending. However, the court shocked Trump on the tariff.

Chief Justice John Roberts stated that the president exercised extraordinary powers to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration, and scope. The court also argued that such action requires explicit congressional authorisation and Trump forgot the importance, history and constitutional responsibility of the US presidency.

United States President Donald Trump announced a broad package of import duties on April 2, 2025—a date he called "Liberation Day".

Relief for India

• Donald Trump initially announced a 27 percent additional tariff on imports of products from India

• Immediately after, he announced a 25 percent penalty tariff on India for purchasing crude oil from Russia, taking the total tariff on Indian products to 50 percent

• With this, India's exports to the United States suffered a severe setback. After a long discussion, India and the United States have prepared the framework of a trade agreement by reducing the tariff to 18 percent

For India, trade with the US will return to the pre-April situation. But Trump is unpredictable. He may find some loophole and reimpose tariffs.

V.K. Vijayakumar,

Chief Investment Strategist,

Geojit Financial Services