Geopolitics
4 min read
Supreme Court Ruling Could Derail Trump's Greenland Tariffs
Fortune
January 19, 2026•3 days ago

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The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on the president's power to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Analysts suggest a ruling against the president could invalidate threatened tariffs on routine international trade, potentially derailing plans like acquiring Greenland by making such threats meaningless in the short term.
But analysts noted this morning that the court is due to issue rulings on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. The expectation on Wall Street is that the court will rule that the president does not have the power under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs on routine international trade. If that happens, Trump’s threats could become meaningless, at least in the short-term.
“Threatened U.S. tariffs … may be overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court,” UBS advised clients in a note this morning.
At ING, Carsten Brzeski and Bert Colijn said, “If the Supreme Court rules against all earlier IEEPA tariffs, Trump’s latest announcement [about Greenland] would be void, and he would have to find other tariffs. Something that would take more time.”
The ruling had been expected earlier this month. The delay has caused some to speculate that the court, which at oral arguments appeared to be skeptical of the White House’s arguments, may now be leaning toward the Trump Administration. The court has a history of taking longer to produce its big, unexpected rulings.
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