Slamming the brakes on presidential trade powers, the Supreme Court delivered a major blow to former President Trump’s tariff regime in a 6-3 decision on February 20, 2026. Chief Justice John Roberts authored the majority opinion in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, effectively ending executive orders that imposed sweeping tariffs under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
The ruling was crystal clear: presidents can’t just slap tariffs on whatever they want, whenever they want. Tough luck. The Court ruled IEEPA was never meant to be a tariff statute, and Trump’s administration had seriously overstepped. Those 145% duties on Chinese goods? Gone.
Presidential tariff powers hit a constitutional wall. No more executive shopping spree on import taxes.
Constitutional nerds are celebrating. The Court emphasized that Article I gives Congress—not presidents—the power to set tariffs. Roberts and five colleagues found the word “regulate” in IEEPA, separated by sixteen other words from “importation,” hardly justifies turning the executive branch into America’s tariff czar.
“The Constitution vests tariff-setting in Congress,” Roberts wrote. No emergency carveout. No foreign affairs exception. Just basic separation of powers. Shocking, right?
Justice Kavanaugh’s dissent argued the majority misapplied the major questions doctrine, claiming IEEPA’s text, history and precedent actually support presidential tariff authority. His concerns about potential refund uncertainties for affected importers highlight the complicated aftermath of this landmark decision. The Court wasn’t buying it.
Now comes the financial earthquake. Up to $175 billion in tariff revenue was collected during Trump’s administration, with 90% of costs passed on to American consumers and businesses according to a New York Fed study. Traders are already positioning for volatility.
Trump’s team isn’t giving up. They’ve pledged to find alternative legal pathways to maintain high tariffs, promising to explore rarely-used provisions that might survive judicial scrutiny.
For businesses caught in the crossfire of trade wars since 2025, relief may finally be coming. For constitutional scholars, it’s validation that presidents can’t tax imports without Congress saying so—clearly, explicitly, and unmistakably. Even in emergencies. Even in foreign affairs.
The verdict is in: presidents aren’t kings. Not even tariff kings.
