The Supreme Court has delivered a blow to Trump by declaring most of the tariffs he has imposed since “Liberation Day” last April to be unconstitutional. This has raised the possibility that up to $175 billion may have to be refunded to importers. In reality, besides contributing to inflation, it is ordinary Americans who have been paying the bill but don’t hold your breath for a refund!
The tariffs, a key part of Trump’s drive to reset global relations in favor of US imperialism, have been imposed on imported goods from almost all countries, including “allies,” but China is definitely the main target. The new tariffs cancelled by the Supreme Court were on top of other tariffs imposed in Trump’s first administration and added to by Biden on goods like electric vehicles and solar panels. These still stand. Overall tariffs have been raised to their highest level since the 1930s.
Trump presented the tariffs as a way to address the trade deficit and bring back industrial jobs. But in fact the trade deficit reached a record level in 2025 and tens of thousands of industrial jobs have been lost over the past year.
Tariffs have been more successful as a tool of coercion and blackmail. In order to maintain access to the US market, most countries chose not to retaliate with high tariffs of their own but instead sought to negotiate better terms or exemptions. For example, Trump has extracted commitments from countries like South Korea and Japan of significant investment in the US. But the coercion card hasn’t always worked. The use of tariffs against Brazil to secure the release from custody of fellow far-right leader, Jair Bolsonaro for leading a coup in 2022, failed.
Why did the Supreme Court act now with several right-wing justices joining the court’s three liberals in a remarkable 6-3 decision, days before Trump is set to deliver a State of the Union address? Up until now, the court has delivered Trump a series of victories, for example saying that ICE could engage in racial profiling and that Trump was immune from criminal prosecution for acts committed while in office.
From a legal point of view, Trump’s use of cherrypicked legislation to justify the tariffs was unconstitutional and cut across Congress’ power to impose taxes and levies (tariffs). But it is hard to escape the conclusion that the Supreme Court is acting on behalf of a section of the ruling class which feels that maybe it is time to reign in the Trump regime. This comes weeks after the explosive developments in Minneapolis including a general strike on January 23, as well as more revelations about the regime’s insane levels of corruption and their ongoing coverup on behalf of the Epstein network.
Trump’s reaction to the decision was to lash out against the justices and say that they behaved unconstitutionally! This reflects his view that all parts of the government should be under his direct control. Like the French monarch, Louis XVI, who was overthrown in 1789, Trump’s view is “l’etat c’est moi”—“the state is me.”
Trump may find some workarounds as he already is invoking other legislation to impose a “global” tariff of 15% on all imports. However, this is not the type of flexible, targeted power he wants to wield. He may try to coerce Congress to give him more authority.
Working-class action in one city has contributed to pushing a section of the ruling class to begin to act to curb this lawless, authoritarian regime. But this doesn’t mean we can rely on ruling class institutions like the Supreme Court to push Trump back. The working class must act on an even bolder and nationwide basis to bring down Trump once and for all.