A Win for Louisiana: SCOTUS Limits Trump’s Tariffs

Originally published at Pelican Institute.

Louisiana is one of the most trade-exposed states in America. That’s not a slogan, it’s our economic reality. So when Washington plays roulette with tariffs, Louisianans don’t just read about it, they feel it in port activity, energy exports, manufacturing costs, farm demand, and household budgets.

That’s why today’s 6–3 Supreme Court decision limiting President Trump’s broad unilateral tariffs is a real positive for our state. The Court restored a basic constitutional boundary: sweeping tariffs cannot be imposed through stretched executive authority. Read the opinion and the case summary here.

What’s in the Opinion?

In a 6-3 decision authored by Chief Justice John Roberts and joined by Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, Barrett, and Jackson, the Court held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not authorize the President to impose tariffs. 

Justice Roberts wrote in the opinion that Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution grants Congress alone the authority to “lay and collect Taxes Duties, Imposts and Excises,” and relies on precedent to clarify that the power to impose tariffs is a taxing power. The government relied on the words “regulate” and “importation” in IEEPA as a grant of Congress’ power to tax to the executive to impose tariffs of any amount, for any duration, on any product from any country. The Court declined to find that the statute’s ambiguous language constituted a delegation of Congressional power, just as it did in finding that the words “safe and healthful working conditions” in the OSHA statute did not authorize the Biden administration to impose a vaccine mandate on 84 million Americans. The Court found it telling that the language of the IEEPA statute grants the President a specific list of powers, but none of which is the power to impose tariffs or duties. 

Justice Gorsuch wrote a concurring opinion to underscore the importance of the deliberative nature of the legislative process. “[M]ost major decisions affecting the rights and responsibilities of the American people…are funneled through the legislative process for a reason…Through that process, the Nation can tap the combined wisdom of the people’s elected representatives, not just that of one faction or man. In all, the legislative process helps ensure each of us has a stake in the laws that govern us and in the Nation’s future.” 

Why Louisiana benefits more than most

Trade isn’t a side issue here. Louisiana was the 4th largest state exporter of goods in 2024, with about $87.0 billion in goods exports and exports accounting for 27.6% of state GDP. That kind of openness is a strength, but it also means tariff shocks hit harder.

Add energy to the mix and the stakes rise. Louisiana is responsible for 61% of U.S. LNG exports. When global trade policy becomes unpredictable, that uncertainty bleeds into investment decisions, contract pricing, and long-term capacity planning.

Then there’s the ports. Cargo moving through the Port of New Orleans’ marine terminals supports 89,827 jobs in Louisiana (and far more nationally). That’s paychecks tied directly to the smooth flow of commerce. Tariff volatility is bad for that flow.

So when the Court reins in executive tariff power, it reduces uncertainty in the very channels Louisiana depends on most.

The frank truth: tariffs were never a good idea

Tariffs are taxes. They’re marketed as toughness. In practice, they are a cost piled onto supply chains that gets passed through to consumers and businesses. That’s why groups representing small businesses, retail, apparel and footwear, and consumer technology welcomed today’s ruling.

That broad response matters. Louisiana competes because we produce and move real goods at scale. We don’t win when Washington taxes inputs, disrupts markets, and invites retaliation. Even when tariffs are pitched as temporary leverage, the economic damage tends to linger through higher costs and politicized carveouts.

Refunds are messy—but the bigger task is preventing a repeat

​There’s an understandable debate over what happens next with tariffs already collected. In principle, money collected under unlawful authority should be returned. In practice, the burden of tariffs was spread widely and embedded in prices throughout the economy. A massive refund process could become another expensive, bureaucratic mess.

If refunds can be done cleanly and quickly, fine. If they turn into chaos, there’s a second-best option: apply the funds to deficit reduction with a strict rule against turning it into new spending. Either way, the bigger priority is to stop the executive branch from using legal loopholes to tax by decree again.

More work to do: Congress must reclaim its job

This ruling is a strong constitutional correction, but it doesn’t finish the job. Congress should stop outsourcing trade and tariff decisions and then pretending it’s powerless. If tariffs are going to happen, lawmakers should debate and vote on them openly.

A practical step is strengthening congressional review such as the Trade Review Act framework so major tariffs can’t persist without legislative approval.

A pro-growth Louisiana path that actually helps families

If the goal is stronger wages, resilience, and affordability, tariffs are the wrong lever. The better path is pro-growth policy:

• Restrain spending growth to reduce inflationary pressure and debt risk.
• Cut regulation that raises the cost of building, permitting, and producing.
• Lower tax burdens on work and investment so Louisiana can attract capital and jobs.
• Expand energy and infrastructure capacity so we sell more to the world instead of taxing ourselves at the border.

That’s how we strengthen Louisiana: constitutional accountability, open competition, more production, and less government distortion—so people can prosper.