SALEM, Ohio — The U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s global tariffs in a 6-3 ruling on Feb. 20, and national agricultural groups responded with cautious relief, stating the tariffs hurt farmers who were already struggling.
“With supply costs already at or near record highs, we strongly encourage the president to avoid using any other available authorities to impose tariffs on agricultural inputs that would further increase costs,” American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said in a statement.
“America’s farmers and ranchers need stability to ensure families across America can put food on their tables.”
By a 6-3 vote, justices ruled that the tariffs exceeded powers given to the president by Congress under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which provides him the authority to regulate commerce during national emergencies created by foreign threats.
This includes a 10% “reciprocal” tariff on almost all countries. Last year, Trump stated that drug trafficking and trade deficits posed a threat to “national security and the economy of the United States.”
But many small businesses and several states argued that these tariffs hurt American businesses, leading them to file lawsuits in the lower courts. The Supreme Court decision sided with these businesses, with Chief Justice John Roberts writing in the majority opinion that “no President has invoked the statute to impose any tariffs—let alone tariffs of this magnitude and scope.” The power to tax, instead, lies with Congress.
Trump reacted swiftly after the ruling, announcing a new global tariff of 10%, possible through Section 122, a law never used before that allows him to impose tariffs for 150 days without congressional approval. On Feb. 21, he said he’d raise this tariff to 15%.
“Any Country that wants to “play games” with the ridiculous supreme court decision, especially those that have “Ripped Off” the U.S.A. for years, and even decades, will be met with a much higher Tariff, and worse, than that which they just recently agreed to,” Trump posted Feb. 23 on Truth Social.
While Republicans remain split in supporting the tariffs, U.S. Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, called the ruling “outrageous,” saying in a statement on X that “these tariffs protected jobs, revived manufacturing and forced cheaters like China to pay up. Now globalists win, factories investments may reverse and American workers lose again.”
Meanwhile, farm groups urged Trump to back down on the tariffs, including the American Soybean Association President and Ohio farmer Scott Metzger, who said, “U.S. soybean growers are reliant upon imports for critical farming tools like fertilizer, seeds, pesticides and agriculture equipment.”
Metzger noted that soybean farmers, in particular, have been closely following the Supreme Court case as they have seen input costs rise over the past year due to tariffs.
The National Association of Wheat Growers stated that wheat growers have also struggled, suffering through a “third straight year” from “stubbornly high supply costs and low prices for crops.”
“As the administration considers how to move forward, NAWG urges careful attention to avoid any adverse impacts on agriculture,” said NAWG CEO Sam Kieffer.
