By Jim Kinney | jkinney@repub.com
SPRINGFIELD — U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal and businesses statewide welcomed the news Friday of the Supreme Court’s ruling that strikes down Donald Trump’s tariffs.
“Today’s decision is a victory for the American people, the rule of law, and our standing in the global economy,” Neal said in a statement.
The court’s 6-3 decision Friday centers on the tariffs Trump unilaterally imposed under an emergency powers law, including the sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs levied on nearly every other country.
Neal argued that Trump had no right to use the emergency powers to impose tariffs. The House of Representatives has the power to tax, not the president.
Neal, D-Springfield, is ranking Democrat and former chair of the House Ways and Means Committee.
“He drove up grocery and energy prices, destabilized small businesses, strained trade relationships while threatening global security, and now, thanks to our persistence, the Trump administration must make consumers and businesses whole.”
The tariffs wereestimated to have an economic impact of some $3 trillion over the next decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Neal attended the oral arguments before the Supreme Court back in November.
“Congress writes trade law, and today’s ruling restores that fundamental truth. The Constitution is clear, and no president — Trump or anyone else — can invent powers they do not have,” said Neal. “As the president continues to push our allies into the arms of our adversaries, this resounding decision should compel House Republicans to end their complicit silence and put a bill on the floor to stop the executive overreach into trade policy.”
He said Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee will continue to advocate for trade policy rooted in transparency, the law and the best interests of the American people, not Trump and his bedfellows.
Welcome news to businesses
The words were well-received by a state business association, as well. Brooke Thomson, president and CEO of the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, said AIM’s 3,400-member companies were gratified by the ruling that the president does not have the authority to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
“The tariffs imposed in 2025 represent the largest U.S. tax increase as a percent of GDP since 1993 and have burdened Massachusetts employers with increased costs, disrupted supply chains and retaliation in overseas markets,” she said in a statement.
She noted how Bay State companies export about $77 billion in goods annually to some 210 global markets, propping up 20% of jobs in the commonwealth.
“It is our firm hope that today’s ruling will reinvigorate international trade and confirm the status of our commonwealth as a global center of economic growth and opportunity,” she said.
