The Supreme Court scrambled the US trade landscape Friday when it struck down the centerpiece of President Trump’s second-term tariff program, ruling 6-3 that his sweeping blanket tariffs are illegal.
The ruling came just over one year into Trump’s second term and after skeptical questioning from key justices during oral arguments last November. It appears set to immediately halt a massive section of Trump’s tariffs, which were announced last year on “Liberation Day” using a 1977 law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
“IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs,” read the decision, written by Chief Justice John Roberts.
Trump attacked the high court in his first response Friday, particularly the justices in the majority, saying they were a “disgrace to our nation.” He hinted that the administration would pursue alternative methods toward implementing its trade goals.
His first move: Imposing a 10% “global tariff” under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. That statute allows the president to impose tariffs of up to 15% for up to 150 days to address trade deficits. After 150 days, Congress would need to approve any extension. That authority, however, has never been used to impose tariffs.
The president signed an executive order late Friday imposing the 10% tariffs under Section 122. Then on Saturday, he raised the levy to 15%
“Please let this statement serve to represent that I, as President of the United States of America, will be, effective immediately, raising the 10% Worldwide Tariff on Countries, many of which have been ‘ripping’ the U.S. off for decades, without retribution (until I came along!), to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level,” Trump wrote in a social media post.
The SCOTUS ruling also raised the question of refunds, which could return over $100 billion to importers in the months ahead. It upholds two lower courts — including the US Court of International Trade — that previously found Trump did not have the authority to impose global tariffs using the 1977 law.
The decision will have wide-ranging ramifications, affecting global trade, consumers, companies, inflation and the pocketbooks of every American. In recent weeks, Trump has already made plans to roll back some tariffs on metals, including on steel and aluminum goods, as he and his administration seek to battle an affordability crisis ahead of the midterm elections.
Read more: What Trump promised with his ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs — and what he delivered
LIVE 146 updates
Trump ups the ‘global’ tariff rate from 10 to 15%
After signing an order late Friday implementing a 10% global tariff, President Trump said on Saturday he will raise it to 15%.
Trump said in a press briefing on Friday that his administration would place a “10% global tariff … over and above the normal tariffs already being charged” now that the Supreme Court has struck down his wide-sweeping tariff regime.
On Saturday, Trump said on social media he as raising the levy “to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level.”
In a 6-3 vote on Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not give the president the authority to levy tariffs, dealing a blow to the Trump administration’s signature economic policy.
The high court’s ruling, Trump said at the briefing, was “deeply disappointing.”
The tariff, which Trump ordered in a Friday directive, is set to take effect Feb. 24 at 12:01 a.m. Washington time, according to a fact sheet released by the White House.
‘We don’t want to be some sort of hostage’: EU considers response to latest Trump tariffs
France’s trade minister on Saturday said the European Union has the tools to respond to President Trump’s latest round of tariffs, the Financial Times reported. Nicolas Forissier saiad EU members should take a “united approach” to the extra levies — now at 15% — that Trump announced a day after a Supreme Court decision invalidated most of his previous tariffs.
Italian exports to US rise 7% in 2025 despite Trump’s tariffs
Source link
