WASHINGTON (February 20, 2026) – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6–3 that President Donald Trump did not have the power to impose wide‑ranging global tariffs using a 1977 law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The Court said that only Congress, not the president, has the authority to set tariffs, which are taxes on imported goods. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the tariffs could cost the U.S. economy about $3 trillion over the next decade, and the government has already collected more than $133 billion, this is money that some companies are now seeking to recover in court. This marks a significant loss for the administration on an issue crucial to the president’s economic agenda.
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Susan Ariel Aaronson, research professor of international affairs, is also the director of the Digital Trade and Data Governance Hub and co-PI at the NSF Trustworthy AI Institute, TRAILS. Aaronson has written six books on the development of trade agreements and how policymakers talk about the rule of law in trade, as well as two primers on trade agreements for Americans. Her research focuses on AI governance, data governance, competitiveness in data-driven services such as XR, and AI and digital trade. Aaronson currently directs projects on governing data for generative AI, ensuring that data is globally accurate, complete, and representative and on AI protectionism.
Michael Moore has served as Director of the Institute for International Economic Policy, Director of the International Trade and Investment Policy Program, Director of the Masters of Arts in International Economic Policy program and Associate Dean at the Elliott School.P Moore teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in international trade theory and policy as well as international macroeconomics. He also has taught international economics to US diplomats at the Foreign Service Institute and students at the Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques (Sciences-Po) in Paris. He has published in numerous academic journals including the Journal of International Economics, International Trade Journal, Canadian Journal of Economics, Review of International Economics, European Journal of Political Economy, and Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv, and has been a contributor to five books. His commentary has appeared in numerous media outlets, including The Washington Post, The Financial Times, CNN, CBC, NPR, and NBC.
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