The Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s sweeping tariffs on Friday, ruling that he overstepped his authority in imposing them on global imports.
In a 6-3 ruling, the court wrote that Trump’s actions were unprecedented, noting that Trump’s attempt to use his “power to unilaterally impose unbounded tariffs and change them at will” overstepped the law, and that his administration’s “view would represent a transformative expansion of the President’s authority over tariff policy.”
The ruling continued: “It is also telling that in IEEPA’s [International Emergency Economic Powers Act’s] half century of existence, no President has invoked the statute to impose any tariffs, let alone tariffs of this magnitude and scope.”
In effect, the Supreme Court ruled that, despite Trump’s assertions otherwise, the President lacks the authority to impose tariffs, and that he improperly used the premise of an “emergency” to impose them, most of which came during “Liberation Day” early last year. The government had collected somewhere in the neighborhood of $230 billion in tariff revenue between January and December 2025.
Critically, not all tariffs have been struck down—only the ones that Trump has imposed as an “emergency” under International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariff laws from the 1970s.
Will consumers get refunds for the tariffs?
Also critically, the Supreme Court did not indicate whether tariffs already paid would need to be refunded. So as it stands, it’s unclear whether anyone is due a refund for dues paid.
It could be a messy situation in terms of sorting it all out, and it appears that many legislators are trying to get ahead of that.
“Several questions remain unanswered, including what happens to the revenue already collected and how the Administration may use alternative authorities to impose tariffs,” said Senator John Curtis, a Republican from Utah, in a statement following the ruling. “Looking ahead, it is critical that we provide the clarity and predictability businesses need.”
That could result in individuals and companies looking to shipping and logistics companies for guidance and refunds. A spokesperson at DHL Express Americas tells Fast Company that the company is “closely monitoring the legal developments regarding IEEPA tariffs to ensure our customers are positioned to exercise their full rights under the law.”
“We would play a technical role in the process, leveraging our customs brokerage technology to track filings to ensure that if refunds are authorized, our clients receive their capital back accurately and efficiently,” the DHL spokesperson added.
Fast Company has also reached out to UPS and FedEx for comment as well.
Additionally, businesses can try to request a refund on imports (assuming they qualify), or take legal action. For instance, they can file a formal protest with the U.S. Customers and Border Protection (CBP), or file a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade.
The ruling blows a hole in Trump’s economic agenda. Administration officials have said, however, that they were prepared to respond. Last month, Jamieson Greer, the United States Trade Representative, told The New York Times that the administration would “start the next day” to find ways to reimpose tariffs if the Supreme Court ended up striking them down.
In response, the markets increased slightly; as of midday Friday, the S&P 500 was up about 0.5%. President Trump, meeting with the nation’s governors on Friday, called the decision a “disgrace.”
