- Trump signs executive order repealing tariffs.
- President imposes new 10% tariffs on imports from all countries.
- Investors deplore a new dose of uncertainty.
US President Donald Trump reacted furiously to Friday’s Supreme Court ruling that he did not have the authority 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 decision, Trump announced an immediate new 10 percent tariff on imports from all countries, on top of all existing tariffs, then issued a proclamation putting them into effect. The law allows it to impose a levy of up to 15% for 150 days, although it could face legal challenges.
The court’s landmark ruling, by a 6-3 vote, upended the influence Trump and his trade envoys wielded with foreign governments at negotiating tables to reshape diplomatic relations and global markets.
The move briefly sent U.S. stock indexes higher, before ending slightly higher as analysts warned of renewed confusion in global markets pending Trump’s next moves.
Hours after the ruling, Trump signed an executive order repealing the tariffs that the court struck down, and he also issued a proclamation imposing a 10% duty on most goods imported into the United States for 150 days, granting exemptions for certain items including essential minerals, metals and energy products, the White House said.
Trade agreements, revenues in question
The move calls into question trade deals that Trump’s envoys have negotiated in recent months under threat of high tariffs. It leaves open the fate of the $175 billion Trump collected from U.S. importers under what the court called a misinterpretation of the law.
“I’m ashamed of some of the 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 ecstatic and “dancing in the streets.”
He insinuated, without evidence, that the court majority had caved to foreign influence: “They are very unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution.” In my opinion, the court was influenced by foreign interests and a much smaller political movement than people might imagine. »
Since returning to the White House 13 months ago, Trump has said he has 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) allowed him to set tariffs at whatever rate he wanted.
The court based its opinion, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, on a quote from the U.S. Constitution: “The 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 breach did not convince the court.
“The Government therefore admits, as it must, that the President enjoys no inherent authority to impose peacetime tariffs,” Roberts wrote.
“And they are not defending the disputed tariffs as an exercise of the president’s war powers. The United States, after all, is not at war with every nation in the world.”
Despite the court’s brutality 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 one-off tariff announcements that roiled markets and the global economy, Trump’s decision and response reintroduced a large dose of uncertainty that economists, investors and policymakers had hoped would disappear.
“I think this will just introduce another period of great uncertainty in global trade as everyone tries to figure out what U.S. tariff policy will be going forward,” said Varg Folkman, an analyst at the European Policy Center think tank.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the court’s decision could have mixed results.
“The Supreme Court took away the influence of the president, but in a way it made the influence that he has more draconian because they agreed that he was entitled to a total embargo,” Bessent told “The Will Cain Show” on Fox News.
“We will return to the same tariff level for countries. It will just be in a less direct and slightly more convoluted 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 the president to levy tariffs of up to 15% for up to 150 days to address “fundamental problems in international payments.” It could also lead to legal challenges. These tariffs can only be extended with authorization from Congress.
