By ruling, on Friday, February 20, that Donald Trump could not rely on a 1977 law to impose tariffs on more than 100 countries, as he has done since April 2, 2025, the Supreme Court handed down a major decision that resonated worldwide. The justices reminded the government of the limits of its power. Under the US Constitution, the imposition of tariffs falls solely within the powers of Congress, and the cited law does not grant the president of the United States this authority. Despite the apparent clarity of the outcome, the 164-page decision reveals deep fault lines, tempering the lessons that can be drawn from it. The significance of the Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump decision can be explained by both the stakes and the context. The imposition of tariffs has been a central lever in Trump’s foreign policy, which he presented as essential to the “survival” of the US. For the Court, this was the first review of a key element of the second Trump administration’s agenda. While the administration had largely prevailed …