Ten months after Trump imposed sweeping tariffs that hurt US businesses and consumers, and hit Apple to the tune of $2 billion, the Supreme Court has ruled that it was done illegally. Refunds will be messy.
Trump launching his tariffs in April 2205
Trump launching his tariffs in April 2205
Trump was always expected to introduce tariffs, but the extent of his April 2025 “Liberation Day” ones caught the world by surprise. The claimed mathematics behind the original rates was ridiculed, and then Trump further raised them to ostensibly punish countries, or even individuals like Tim Cook.
The Supreme Court has ruled 6 to 3 that imposing the tariffs without Congress’s involvement was illegal. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the ruling, which denied Trump’s claim that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) gave him the authority to act unilaterally.