Trump tariffs struck down: A timeline of how the trade upheaval unfolded

President Trump last year invoked emergency powers to impose sweeping tariffs on imports; A year later, the Supreme Court ruled he exceeded his authority, ending an aggressive tariff regime

The uncertainty around US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff regime appears to have reached a legal endpoint. On Friday (February 20, 2025), the US Supreme Court struck down the global tariffs he imposed shortly after his inauguration, ruling that his use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 1977, exceeded presidential authority. In a 6-3 decision, the Justices upheld lower court rulings in challenges brought by businesses and 12 US states, concluding that the law did not authorise the president to impose broad import taxes without Congressional approval.

 

The decision marks a turning point in a tariff strategy that Trump had placed at the centre of his economic and foreign policy. Over the past year, tariffs on imported goods were used not only to target trade imbalances but also weaponised as leverage over allies and rivals, which reshaped global trade flows and triggered legal and diplomatic pushback.

 

 

Here is a timeline tracing how the tariffs began, expanded, and were ultimately quashed in a court of law.

 

When did Trump begin imposing tariffs in his second term?

 

Trump began reordering the US' tariff regime almost immediately after returning to office on January 20 in 2025. He invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a 1977 law designed for national emergencies, to impose import duties on China, Canada, and Mexico.

 

The administration said the move was necessary to counter fentanyl trafficking and trade imbalances, framing both as national emergencies.

 

This marked a departure from past practice, since IEEPA had historically been used to impose sanctions or freeze assets, not tariffs.

 

What were the “Liberation Day” tariffs and how did they expand globally?

 

A bigger shock awaited the global trade system on April 2, 2025, when Trump dramatically expanded the tariff regime on what he termed “Liberation Day". He signed an executive order imposing a baseline 10 per cent tariff on imports from nearly all countries, alongside higher country-specific reciprocal tariffs that ranged between 11 and 50 per cent, depending on trade deficits and other factors. The Trump administration declared a national emergency over trade deficits and used the 1977 emergency law to justify global tariffs against most trading partners.

 

By mid-2025, the tariffs were imposed or threatened against several countries, including Brazil and India, and were used as leverage in trade negotiations and foreign policy disputes. India, in particular, came in for the steepest tariffs of all. Starting with a 25 per cent reciprocal tariff, Trump soon imposed an additional, punitive 25 per cent tariff against India, citing its continued purchase of discounted Russian crude oil. This, he claimed, was helping Russia bankroll its war machine against Ukraine, stymieing peace efforts.

 

When did the US courts first block the tariffs? 

The first major legal setback for President Trump came on May 28, 2025, when the US Court of International Trade ruled that Trump had exceeded his authority under IEEPA. The court said tariffs were a legislative power reserved for Congress and issued an injunction blocking the duties. However, the tariffs remained in force after the administration appealed and secured a temporary stay while the case moved through higher courts.

 

On August 29, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit upheld the lower court’s ruling, reinforcing doubts about the legality of the tariffs.

 

Why did the case reach the Supreme Court?

 

The legal dispute centred on whether the IEEPA permits a president to impose tariffs without Congressional approval. The Constitution assigns tariff-setting powers to Congress, and challengers argued Trump’s actions violated that principle.

 

Businesses and 12 states sued, arguing the tariffs imposed sweeping taxes without legislative authorisation.

 

The nine-justice Supreme Court heard arguments in November questioning whether emergency powers could justify such broad tariff authority.

 

On Friday, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the President must point to clear Congressional authorisation for such sweeping economic actions. The ruling invalidated the legal basis of tariffs imposed on most trading partners and reinforced that tariff powers belong to Congress under the Constitution.

 

What happens next after the ruling?

 

The decision has opened the door for importers to seek refunds on more than $175 billion collected under the emergency tariffs. Meanwhile, it has also thrown the globe into a state of terrible economic confusion as all the trade deals that have been painfully made to appease the US President will likely have to be revisited.

 

For now, however, the judgment marks the end of Trump’s most expansive tariff experiment and resets legal limits on Presidential power in US trade policy.