Supreme Court strikes down Trump’s sweeping tariffs

By LINDSAY WHITEHURST, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s far-reaching global tariffs on Friday, handing him a stinging loss that sparked a furious attack on the court he helped shape.

Trump said he was “absolutely ashamed” of some justices who ruled 6-3 against him, calling them “disloyal to our Constitution” and “lapdogs.” At one point he even raised the specter of foreign influence without citing any evidence.

The decision could have ripple effects on economies around the globe after Trump’s moves to remake post-World War II trading alliances by wielding tariffs as a weapon.

But an unbowed Trump pledged to impose a new global 10% tariff under a law that’s restricted to 150 days and has never been used to apply tariffs before.

“Their decision is incorrect,” he said. “But it doesn’t matter because we have very powerful alternatives.”

The court’s ruling found tariffs that Trump imposed under an emergency powers law were unconstitutional, including the sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs he levied on nearly every other country.

Trump appointed three of the justices on the nation’s highest court during his first term, and has scored a series of short-term wins that have allowed him to move ahead with key policies.

Travis Campbell, owner and CEO of Eagle Creek, a travel-gear company based in Steamboat Springs, was happy with the Supreme Court decision.

“It feels like the rule of law is being upheld in a scenario where I felt like these tariffs have been wrongly put in place from the start,” Campbell said.

But the “second-order effect” is more uncertainty for most small businesses as Trump announced new tariffs and questions loom about refunds, he added. “I pretty quickly turn to what it means, particularly in the spirit of the refund that I think we’re now all owed.”

Campbell said refunds for the higher costs imposed by tariffs would be a lifeline for businesses that he knows “are hanging by a thread.” He said there are established refund processes that have been used when lapsed trade programs were renewed retroactively and tariffs were lifted.

“I see zero cause for any excuses from the administration” for approving refunds, Campbell said.

Eagle Creek, which moved most of its production to Indonesia, has suffered under the tariffs imposed in the second Trump administration, Campbell said. Profits have dropped and the company has laid off “really great people” to keep the business going.

A majority of Colorado businesses surveyed by state agencies in late 2025 said the effects of the import taxes have been negative, with the financial impacts followed by the uncertainty created by changing trade policies cited as the biggest challenges. Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement that Colorado businesses, farmers and consumers have felt the costs of the taxes that increased prices, disrupted supply chains, and delayed investment.

“Our economy will grow more and we will all prosper from this decision,” Polis said.

Sen. John Hickenlooper called on the Trump administration to promptly repay businesses the $175 billion levied under tariffs.

“The Trump administration should immediately pay back every single Colorado small business that suffered from their reckless tariffs,” the Colorado Democrat said.

Tariffs were the first major piece of Trump’s broad agenda to come squarely before the Supreme Court for a final ruling, after lower courts had also sided against the president.

The majority found that it is unconstitutional for the president to unilaterally set and change tariffs because taxation power clearly belongs to Congress. “The Framers did not vest any part of the taxing power in the Executive Branch,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote.

Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Samuel Alito, and Clarence Thomas dissented.

“The tariffs at issue here may or may not be wise policy. But as a matter of text, history, and precedent, they are clearly lawful,” Kavanaugh wrote. Trump praised his 63-page dissent as “genius.”

The court majority did not address whether businesses could get refunded for the billions they have collectively paid in tariffs. Many companies, including the big-box warehouse chain Costco, have already lined up in lower courts to demand refunds. Kavanaugh noted the process could be complicated.

“The Court says nothing today about whether, and if so how, the Government should go about returning the billions of dollars that it has collected from importers. But that process is likely to be a ‘mess,’ as was acknowledged at oral argument,” he wrote.

The Treasury had collected more than $133 billion from the import taxes the president has imposed under the emergency powers law as of December, federal data shows. The impact over the next decade has been estimated at some $3 trillion.

The tariffs decision doesn’t stop Trump from imposing duties under other laws. Those have more limitations on the speed and severity of Trump’s actions, but the president said they would still allow him to “charge much more” than he had before.

Vice President JD Vance called the high court decision “lawlessness” in a post on X.