The Supreme Court announced a decision on February 20 finding that President Trump exceeded his authority in using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA) to justify his country-specific tariff regime and found that IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs.
The decision has split aspects, with several Justices supporting certain aspects of the majority opinion, concurring in others and writing their own opinions on other aspects. Six Justices (Roberts, Sotamayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, Barrett and Jackson) wrote in favor of some aspect of the majority, and three Justices (Kavanuagh, Thomas and Alito) dissented. The majority agreed the statute did not give the President tariff authority, but split on the basis for that conclusion, whether the major questions doctrine should be applied or whether ordinary statutory interpretation could lead to the same conclusion. The issue of refunds and if, when and how those could occur, remains to be determined. The Administration has previously made it clear it will replace the tariff regime, utilizing more legally certain tariff authority.
As a reminder, newsprint and magazine paper are currently exempt from tariffs under the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement. For additional comments, see the Alliance press release.
