WASHINGTON—In a decision that could affect many of the small- and medium-size business owners who are credit union members, the Supreme Court has struck down President Trump’s global tariffs as illegal.
The 6-3 decision, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, rejected Trump’s argument that a 1977 law, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, implicitly authorized the broad tariffs he and the administration have been putting in place since the president took office just over a year ago.
The tariffs have led to tens of billions of dollars in revenue for the federal government from collections from companies, many of which are now demanding those assessments be repaid to them.
Th three justices casting the dissenting votes were Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh.
Specifically, the case involved two categories of tariffs: the first imposed one category on virtually every country in the world, and the other specifically on Mexico, Canada and China.
Other, smaller tariffs that Trump has enacted under different laws remain standing.
The Intent of Congress
“Had Congress intended to convey the distinct and extraordinary power to impose tariffs, it would have done so expressly,” Roberts wrote.
In its analysis, the Wall Street Journal said the ruling will “likely prompt the White House to try to re-enact the tariffs using other legal justifications. The administration does have other laws it can rely on, but those laws have procedural constraints and may not allow tariffs as expansive as the ones the court struck down.”
Group Calls for Refunds
In response to the decision, a group called We Pay the Tariffs which says it is made up of small business members from across the country, hailed the court’s decision. It had earlier. launched a national sign-on letter campaign that it said has already been signed by hundreds of businesses calling for “full, fast and automatic” refunds.
“Today’s Supreme Court decision is a tremendous victory for America’s small businesses who have been bearing the crushing weight of these tariffs,” Executive Director Dan Anthony said in a statement. “Our coalition members, who through hard work, late nights, and sweat equity built local businesses, have paid billions in tariffs that never should have been imposed.
“They’ve taken out loans just to keep their doors open. They’ve frozen hiring, canceled expansion plans, and watched their life savings drain away to pay tariff bills that weren’t in any budget or business plan,” Anthony continued “Today, the Supreme Court has validated what we’ve been saying all along: these tariffs were unlawful from the start.”
‘Meaningless,’ Unless…
The organization said the legal victory is “meaningless” without actual relief and called for the administration to establish a “fast, efficient, and automatic refund process that returns tariff money to the businesses that paid it.”
