Supreme Court Blocks Trump’s Tariffs

The US Supreme Court has dealt a significant setback to President Donald Trump’s trade agenda, striking down most of the broad tariff measures introduced under his administration, The Washington Post reported.

According to the newspaper, the Court ruled that the president lacked the authority under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose sweeping import duties on goods from nearly all US trading partners. The decision is expected to reverberate across global markets, affecting international trade flows, businesses, consumer prices, inflation dynamics and household budgets in the United States.

The outcome represents a departure from a string of recent Supreme Court decisions that had favored Trump. Over the past year, the justices had largely allowed key administration policies to proceed while legal disputes played out, including restrictions on transgender military service, access for the United States DOGE Service to sensitive data, and substantial reductions to the Education Department, The Washington Post noted.

The financial stakes are considerable. The disputed tariffs covered trade worth trillions of dollars, with nearly USD 134 billion in duties collected through December 14 under the contested legal basis. The Tax Foundation estimates that the broader trade measures would cost American households about USD 1,100 in 2025.

The ruling comes shortly after Washington and New Delhi announced a framework for an interim trade agreement built around reciprocal and mutually beneficial terms. The arrangement reinforces ongoing negotiations on a broader U.S.-India Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA), launched by President Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 13, 2025, aimed at expanding market access and strengthening supply chains.

A joint statement described the interim accord as a milestone in bilateral relations, underscoring a shared commitment to balanced trade with tangible results. Under the framework, India is set to remove or lower tariffs on US industrial goods and a broad range of agricultural and food products, including dried distillers’ grains, red sorghum, tree nuts, fresh and processed fruit, soybean oil, wine and spirits, among others.

In return, the United States will apply an 18 percent reciprocal tariff under Executive Order 14257 of April 2, 2025, as amended, on Indian-origin goods such as textiles and apparel, leather and footwear, plastics and rubber products, organic chemicals, home décor items, artisanal goods and certain machinery. Provided the interim deal is finalized successfully, Washington will also lift reciprocal tariffs on a range of products listed in the annex to Executive Order 14346 of September 5, 2025, including generic pharmaceuticals, gems and diamonds, and aircraft components.