NEW YORK, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs under a law meant for use in national emergencies are illegal.
In a 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court said that the tariff policies under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) are unconstitutional, officially striking down the global tariffs Trump has introduced since April.
The justices ruled that the president did not have the authority under the IEEPA to impose import tariffs on goods from nearly all the U.S. trading partners.
The voting upheld that it is the right of Congress to impose taxes, not the president.
The ruling is expected to affect global trade, companies, inflation and the pocketbooks of every U.S. citizen, local media reported Friday.
Trump announced on April 2 that the United States has established a "minimum baseline tariff" of 10 percent on practically all imported goods, plus even higher rates on certain trading partners, claiming that higher tariffs would help bring in revenue for the government and revitalize the U.S. manufacturing.
On April 23, a coalition of 12 U.S. states sued the Trump administration over the "illegal tariffs" in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York.
A federal appeals court on Aug. 29 upheld the ruling by the Court of International Trade, saying that Trump wrongfully invoked the IEEPA to issue the tariffs.
In September, the Trump administration appealed to the Supreme Court to rule on the legality of the tariffs. ■