The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued a ruling on Friday striking down most of US President Donald Trump’s tariffs, with six of the nine Supreme Court justices ruling that the Executive Branch lacks authority to levy tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
“IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs,” Friday’s ruling said, adding that the president has “no inherent authority” to impose tariffs during peacetime using the statutes in the IEEPA. The ruling read:
“In IEEPA’s half-century of existence, no president has invoked the statute to impose any tariffs, let alone tariffs of this magnitude and scope. That ‘lack of historical precedent,’ coupled with the breadth of authority that the President now claims, suggests that the tariffs extend beyond the President’s ‘legitimate reach.’”
Trump claimed that the purported inflow of drugs from Canada, China and Mexico, as well as the “hollowing out” of the US industrial base, constituted a national emergency under IEEPA that justified the tariffs, which the court rejected.
Trump criticizes court, says he’ll get tariffs reinstated
In a press briefing following the decision, Trump lashed out at the justices who voted to strike down the tariffs and vowed to get them reinstated, Politico reported.
“The Supreme Court’s ruling on tariffs is deeply disappointing, and I’m ashamed of certain members of the court, absolutely ashamed, for not having the courage to do what’s right for our country,” Politico cited him as saying.
He said he would reinstate the tariffs by using “other alternatives.”
Trump’s tariffs sent shockwaves through asset markets in 2025, causing severe downturns in crypto and equities when a new round of tariffs was announced or even threatened, fueling macroeconomic uncertainty.
Related: US stocks, crypto rise after Trump pauses planned European tariffs
Trump claims tariffs could replace income tax, but crypto markets are paying the price
In October 2024, while on the campaign trail, Trump floated the idea of replacing the federal income tax with revenue generated from tariffs. Trump said the tariffs would dramatically lower the US budget deficit.
Federal taxes would be “substantially reduced” for individuals and households making less than $200,000 per year once tariff revenue started rolling in, Trump said in April 2025.
Trump announced 100% tariffs on China on Oct. 10, 2025. Within minutes, crypto markets plummeted, and the price of Bitcoin (BTC) dropped from a high of about $122,000 to about $107,000 the same day the tariffs were announced.
Analysts cited several reasons for the crash, including excessive leverage. However, traders overwhelmingly saw the 100% China tariffs as the catalyst for the crypto crash, according to market sentiment platform Santiment.
Crypto prices have yet to recover from October’s crash, and BTC remains nearly 50% below its all-time high of over $125,000 reached on October 6, despite Trump walking back his tariff policies.
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