- Trump signs an executive order repealing the struck down tariffs.
- President imposes a new 10% tariff on imports from all countries.
- Investors bemoan a new dose of uncertainty.
US President Donald Trump responded angrily to the Supreme Court’s ruling on Friday that he lacked the power to unilaterally set tariffs on imports, denouncing individual judges as he vowed to continue a global trade war that has kept the world on edge for a year.
Saying he was undeterred by what he repeatedly called a ridiculous ruling, Trump announced an immediate new 10% tariff on imports from all countries, on top of any existing tariffs, and then issued a proclamation putting them into effect. The law allows it to impose a tax of up to 15% for 150 days, although it could face legal challenges.
The court’s historic 6-3 ruling upended the influence that Trump and his trade envoys have exerted over foreign governments at the negotiating tables to reshape diplomatic relations and global markets.
The ruling briefly sent U.S. stock indexes higher, before ending slightly higher as analysts warned of renewed confusion in global markets as they await Trump’s next actions.
Hours after the ruling, Trump signed an executive order repealing the tariffs that the court struck down, and also issued a proclamation imposing a 10% tariff on most goods imported into the United States for 150 days, granting exemptions for certain items, including minerals, metals and critical energy products, the White House said.
Trade agreements, income in question
The ruling cast doubt on trade deals that Trump’s envoys have negotiated in recent months under the threat of high tariffs. It left open the fate of the $175 billion that Trump has collected from American importers under what the court considered his incorrect interpretation of the law.
“I’m ashamed of certain members of the court, absolutely ashamed, for not having the courage to do what’s right for our country,” Trump told reporters at the White House, complaining that foreign countries were elated and “dancing in the street.”
He suggested, without evidence, that the court’s majority bowed to foreign influence: “They are very unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution. In my opinion, the court has allowed itself to be influenced by foreign interests and a political movement that is much smaller than people would ever think.”
Since returning to the White House 13 months ago, Trump has said he had what the court summarized as the “extraordinary power to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration and scope.” Citing a national emergency, he said the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) meant he could set tariffs at any price he wanted.
The court based its opinion, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, on a quote from the United States Constitution: “Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises.”
The Trump administration’s argument that it had identified a war-like emergency to justify a loophole failed to persuade the court.
“Therefore, the Administration recognizes, as it must, that the President enjoys no inherent authority to impose tariffs in peacetime,” Roberts wrote.
“And he does not defend the challenged tariffs as an exercise of the president’s war powers. After all, the United States is not at war with every nation in the world.”
Despite the court’s candor in ruling that the president had exceeded his authority, Trump told reporters, “It’s ridiculous, but it’s okay, because we have other ways, many other ways.”
Economic uncertainty increases
After a year of Trump’s often ad hoc tariff announcements that shook markets and the global economy, Trump’s ruling and response reintroduced a heavy dose of uncertainty that economists, investors and policymakers had hoped was in the rearview mirror.
“I think it will bring a new period of high uncertainty in global trade, as everyone tries to determine what the US tariff policy will be in the future,” said Varg Folkman, an analyst at the European Policy Center think tank.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the court ruling could have mixed results.
“The Supreme Court has taken away the influence of the president, but in some ways, they have made the influence that he has more draconian because they agreed that he has the right to a total embargo,” Bessent told “The Will Cain Show” in fox news.
“We will return to the same tariff level for the countries. It will just be in a less direct and slightly more complicated way,” he said.
In announcing his new temporary 10% tariff, Trump became the first president to invoke Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows him to impose tariffs of up to 15% for up to 150 days to address “fundamental international payments problems.” That could also raise legal challenges. These rates can only be expanded with the authorization of Congress.
