The RecordExhibit 84
Supreme Court: his emergency tariffs were illegal
Ruled unlawful means: A court ruled against it. Some rulings are on appeal.
The Court ruled 6 to 3 that the emergency-powers law Trump used for his sweeping 'Liberation Day' and fentanyl tariffs doesn't let presidents impose tariffs at all.
What happened
Importers had paid an estimated $175 billion under the struck-down tariffs. Within hours Trump imposed a new global tariff under a different law, which faces its own legal challenge.
Where it stands
Refund claims are working their way through the Court of International Trade and customs. The replacement tariff lost in court too. On May 7, 2026, the Court of International Trade ruled 2 to 1 that the 10% global tariff Trump imposed under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 exceeded his authority, because the deficits he cited were not the balance-of-payments deficits that law requires. The order covered only the three plaintiffs that import goods. The government appealed, and on May 12 the appeals court temporarily put the order on hold; we found no report of a final appeals ruling. The Section 122 tariff expired at its 150-day limit on July 24, 2026. The day before, the U.S. Trade Representative put new tariffs into effect under a third law, Section 301, and Oregon and other states have gone back to the trade court to challenge those, saying they mirror the expired tariff almost exactly.
The administration's side
The administration argued trade deficits and fentanyl trafficking were national emergencies that justified the tariffs.
Sources
Permanent link: https://unredactedrecord.com/e/tariffs/