The US Supreme Court has canceled the legal basis for a large part of the tariffs imposed by the Donald Trump administration. This is about 75 percent of the tariffs imposed in April 2025. They affected almost all countries in the world, and the president invoked the 1977 Emergency Law to introduce them, recalls the German public television ARD.
Now the Supreme Court has ruled: this was illegal - on the basis of the aforementioned law, the president did not have the right to impose the tariffs. This also makes the 15 percent rate introduced for most EU goods illegal. However, tariffs on steel, aluminum and cars remain in place.
"Essential Principles of the Separation of Powers"
James Semple, a law professor at Hofstra University in Hempstead, USA, explained to ABC television that the Constitution grants Congress the authority to impose tariffs. According to him, the president has tried to impose one of the largest tax increases in history on American consumers without consulting Congress. "The verdict is a confirmation of the essential principles of the separation of powers in the Constitution," Semple emphasized.
After the court's decision, Donald Trump gave a press conference at the White House and announced that he was deeply disappointed and ashamed of some of the judges. As expected, he said that he intends to place the tariffs that were canceled by the court on a different legal basis. And more: the president announced that he would sign an executive order to introduce a base tariff rate of ten percent on all imports into the United States, in addition to the tariffs already imposed.
The new tariff will take effect on February 24 and will be valid for 150 days, the White House announced. There are exceptions: the tariff will not apply to medicines and active pharmaceutical ingredients, as well as to cars and heavy trucks. Different customs agreements will apply to certain categories of goods, depending on the country.
It is unclear what will happen to the customs revenues
But what will now happen to the money that the government has illegally collected? As the German public media notes, there is no clarity on this. In principle, importers of goods should get back the duties they have paid. But the Supreme Court did not rule on the matter.
According to financial expert Natasha Sarin, who once worked for the Joe Biden administration, consumers should not rejoice prematurely. She explained to CNN: "So far, consumers have paid about $150 billion in these tariffs, which have now been declared illegal. But the verdict does not say anything about compensation." If at some point there is a refund, it will not be returned directly to consumers, but to the companies," Sarin explained. "From there, everything will depend on whether the companies pass on these compensations to consumers."
Last year, Trump's tariffs caused Americans to spend around 1,000 euros per household, ARD reports.
The population is against higher tariffs
Tariffs are the core of Trump's economic policy. And as he repeatedly stressed before the court's decision, defeat would not make him change his course, the German public media recalls.
The Democrats, for their part, can hardly believe their luck. Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama's chief of staff in 2009-2010, told CNN: "When it comes to the economy, the president gets very low ratings in the polls. And now he wants to fight for something that the American people don't like." Emanuel adds that for people, tariffs are a direct burden on their money and a cause of inflation.
"For Trump, approval will drop even more - and on the most important issue of the election," the Democrat emphasizes, referring to the midterm elections in November.
Uncertainty in the EU remains
The decision of the US Supreme Court has caused new uncertainty in the EU - both among companies and politicians in Brussels, ARD also writes. The ruling was generally welcomed and described as an "important signal for rules-based trade and legal certainty," according to Oliver Richtberg of the VDMA foreign trade association, which represents the interests of 3,500 German and European companies in the mechanical engineering sector.
However, European companies continue to feel uncertain - given that Trump has "alternative legal grounds to impose global tariffs," as Richtberg points out. He also says that the practical impact of the ruling is not yet foreseeable, which is leading to lasting uncertainty among companies.
What happens next?
Companies on both sides of the Atlantic rely on stability and predictability in trade relations, said an EC spokesman, quoted by ARD. But the mood in Brussels is ambivalent: on the one hand there is satisfaction with the court decision, on the other the question arises - what next?
The German public media also quotes the chairman of the Trade Committee in the European Parliament, Bernd Lange, as saying: "This is a blow against Trump's arbitrary customs policy". But the question also remains what will happen now in the end with the tariffs? And what measures should the EU react to new tariffs imposed by Trump? And also: who will pay the compensation and who will reimburse the amounts?
One thing is clear: the so-called reciprocal tariffs are illegal. Trump justified them with alleged imbalances for the US in international trade. These include the 15 percent rate for most European imports to the US, writes ARD.
At the same time, it is noted that the Supreme Court has not set a deadline for the implementation of the decision, i.e. there are no rules on how and how quickly the tariffs should be lifted. For the EC and trade politicians in Brussels, only one thing is clear for now: consumers, companies and markets are facing new uncertainty in transatlantic trade relations.
Author: Carsten Küntop (ARD)