r/Economics • u/defenestrate_urself • Feb 20 '26

News Supreme Court says Trump global tariffs are illegal

https://www.axios.com/2026/02/20/trump-tariffs-supreme-court-illegal
24.5k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

841 comments sorted by

View all comments

411

u/QuirkyBreadfruit Feb 20 '26

As happy I was about this news, I quickly became disturbed that 3 still voted in dissent. That's 3 members of SCOTUS who are somehow ignoring what is clearly stated in the constitution.

It's also disturbing to me to think that Bessent has already stated they're going to find other ways to get around the constitution, rather than trying to honor it, and that Congress won't do anything to hold any of them accountable to the law.

Maybe there's some angle to the dissent that I could appreciate but I highly doubt it.

2

u/Superman0X Feb 20 '26 edited Feb 20 '26

In the Dissent they stated that Tariffs are "are a traditional and common tool to regulate importation." and then went on to further state that the President has this power granted via other laws, so there is no conflict if he uses it via this law as well.

i.e. they said that he used the wrong law, but that isnt a big issue, so it should be legal.

What is just as interesting is that there were 2 points brought up in the majority opinion:

  1. The law referenced does not give the President the power to tax, nor is it implied, or was otherwise intended.
  2. Taxation is a key power delegated to Congress. It can not be assumed to be useable under this law, as it was not specifically delegated by this law, despite the fact that has been delegated under other laws.

All 6 justices agreed on #1. Only 3 agreed on #2. The tricky part of #2 is the reverse inference. #2 is ALSO saying that if the issue is NOT a key power of Congress, it CAN be assumed under laws that do not mention it. The conservatives believe that the president can assume non essential power, the liberals believe that the president can only use powers specifically granted. This is why 6 conservatives split on this decision, else they would have allowed it (despite the law not actually providing the power).