Your daily briefToday's most important news in one place

US Supreme Court strikes down Trump global tariffs

The US Supreme Court on Friday ruled Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs illegal – a stunning political setback that blocks the signature policy of the president’s economic agenda.

The conservative-majority high court ruled six-three in the judgment, saying that an emergency powers law known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) “does not authorise the President to impose tariffs.”

The ruling does not impact sector-specific duties that Trump has separately imposed on imports of steel, aluminum and various other goods. Several government probes which could ultimately lead to more such sectoral tariffs remain in the works. Still, this marks Trump’s biggest defeat at the Supreme Court since returning to the White House last year.

While Trump has long relied on tariffs as a lever for pressure and negotiations, he made unprecedented use of emergency economic powers in his second term to slap new duties on virtually all US trading partners.

The Supreme Court’s three liberal justices joined three conservatives in Friday’s ruling, which upheld lower court decisions that tariffs Trump imposed under IEEPA were illegal. Conservative Justices Brett Kavanaugh, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented. Chief Justice John Roberts, in delivering his opinion, noted that “IEEPA contains no reference to tariffs or duties.”

A lower trade court ruled in May that Trump overstepped his authority with across-the-board levies and blocked most of them from taking effect, but that outcome was put on hold as the government sought an appeal.

Also today

• The Luxembourg Veterinary and Food Administration has issued a recall notice for Hygiena (HY)’ branded organic ground almonds, in packets of 250g and 500g, as they may contain aflatoxine B1, or mycotoxin.
• Police have issued a witness appeal following an incident that occurred on 22 October 2025 when a pedestrian using a zebra crossing at around 2pm was left startled.
• A Luxair Boeing 737-700, which was diverted to Madrid rather than Findel on 9 ^th February due to a crack in the cockpit window, has been retired from flight duties.
• Luxembourger, Benjamin Bodig, has raised 30,000 EUR for the Children’s Cancer Foundation, by taking on an 80km overnight race.
• The UK police are continuing to search the former home Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor after his arrest over alleged misconduct linked to Jeffrey Epstein.
• US economic growth cooled much more than expected in the final months of 2025, according to official data, with Donald Trump blaming the lengthy government shutdown last year.

On air

Tom and John were reunited after a topsy turvy week at RTL and just in time for the Friday warm up where it’s wall-to-wall bangers!

Figure of the day

Constructors crowned the largest tower of Barcelona’s unfinished Sagrada Familia basilica with a final piece on Friday, setting the peak of the world’s tallest church at 172.5 metres.

• Completion of the entire Sagrada Familia, however, is expected to be completed in around a decade’s time.
• The completion of the 17-metre-high white cross that stands at the top of the Jesus Christ tower is part of a set of 18 towers originally conceived by Gaudi.

Stay connected: tune in to RTL Today Radio, now on DAB+, and follow the latest news as it unfolds on our website.