Last year was marked by the uncertainty and disruption that President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff, which caused tumult in the art market. Now, just over a year after Trump signed executive orders imposing tariffs on major US trading partners Canada, Mexico, and China, the Supreme Court ruled to to strike down most of them.
In a 6-3 decision authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court ruled that Trump exceeded his authority when instituting sweeping tariffs under the 1977 law, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
“The president asserts the extraordinary power to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration and scope,” Roberts wrote, according to NBC News. Roberts continued that the administration could point “to no statute” in which Congress had said the IEEPA could apply to tariffs. As such, “we hold that IEEPA does not authorize the president to impose tariffs,” Roberts concluded.
Roberts was joined in the decision by Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett. Justices Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh, and Samuel Alito dissented.
The decision does not reverse all of the tariffs. Those placed on steel and aluminum under different laws remain in place. However, Trump’s country-by-country tariffs, also known as “reciprocal” tariffs, have been removed. These include the the blanket 10 percent one imposed on much of the world, as well as the 25 percent tariff imposed on Canada, China, and Mexico in February 2025 for failure to stem the flow of fentanyl
NBC News reported that companies that paid the tariffs may be able to seek refunds from the US Treasury Department. Justice Kavanaugh, notably in his minority opinion, worried about how the government would go about returning the billions of dollars already collected from importers under the decision. In December, US Customs and Border Protection estimated that Trump’s tariffs had raised about $130 billion; Trump touted a figure closer to $3 trillion.
The case echoed that of one brought during President Joe Biden’s term, over his attempt to forgive billions of dollars in student debt. The Supreme Court blocked that proposal citing “the major questions doctrine,” which stipulates that Congress must authorize policies with nationwide impact. Trump’s tariffs were ruled against under a similar doctrine.
While original artworks and antiques have remained exempt from tariffs, art professionals reported suffering higher costs for art materials, transportation, shipping, event supplies, and other goods that affect the creation, display, and sale of artworks at both galleries and art fairs. Additionally, galleries told ARTnews last fall that the economic uncertainty resulting from the tariffs last spring and summer had a depressive effect on sales, with Canadian collectors often not buying from US galleries due to the tariffs.
“I have a lot of Canadian clients,” dealer Jack Shainman told ARTnews last September. “Out of principle, they are not coming here. At some point, these things catch up. And it scares me because it’s so out of our control.”
