The court says no: the Supreme Court’s rebuke of Trump’s tariff gambit
The ruling is a victory for the rule of law, but it is not the end of the trade war
Add BT as a preferred source
ON FEB 20, 2026, the US Supreme Court delivered one of the most consequential rulings of the Trump era, and perhaps one of the most significant check on executive power in a generation.
In a 6-3 decision authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court struck down the sweeping tariffs US President Donald Trump imposed on imports from nearly every country in the world, holding that the 1977 law he used to justify them granted no such authority. The ruling was blunt, the majority’s logic airtight, and the political fallout immediate and volcanic.
To understand the stakes, one must first understand the president’s claim. Relying on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) – a 1977 statute designed to regulate commerce in response to foreign emergencies – Trump imposed “reciprocal” tariffs including duties as high as 145 per cent on Chinese goods and a baseline 10 per cent on nearly all other trading partners.
TRENDING NOW
Qatari LNG ship struck in Strait of Hormuz, testing US talks
DBS shares rise 1.9% to hit all-time intraday high as sentiment improves
‘Baptism of fire’: Andre Khor on leading Singapore refiner Aster through an energy crisis
Singapore retains top spot as most expensive city for HNWIs, with five Apac cities in global top 10
