Days after the US Supreme Court struck down Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, the President said that it paradoxically strengthened his powers by confirming his authority to impose duties under other laws.
In a post on Truth Social, he said, “The supreme court (will be using lower case letters for a while based on a complete lack of respect!) of the United States accidentally and unwittingly gave me, as President of the United States, far more powers and strength than I had prior to their ridiculous, dumb, and very internationally divisive ruling,” he wrote.
The Supreme Court ruled 6–3 on February 20 that Trump exceeded his authority by imposing broad tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a 1977 law designed for national security emergencies rather than general trade policy.
TRUMP SAYS RULING EXPANDS HIS TRADE POWERS
Despite the setback, Trump argued the judgment confirmed his authority to deploy other tariff tools more aggressively. In his post, he said the court had effectively validated the use of remaining duties “in a much more powerful and obnoxious way, with legal certainty.”
“For one thing, I can use Licenses to do absolutely ‘terrible’ things to foreign countries The court has also approved all other Tariffs, of which there are many,” he wrote.
Trump also accused the majority of acting against US interests, calling the decision “ridiculous” and suggesting the justices were “unpatriotic and disloyal to the Constitution.”
In another post on his social media, he warned that he would not return to Congress to seek approval for tariffs.
“It has already been gotten, in many forms, a long time ago! They were also just reaffirmed by the ridiculous and poorly crafted Supreme Court decision!” Trump wrote.
TRUMP INCREASES NEW GLOBAL TARIFFS TO 15%
Within hours of the ruling, the White House outlined a revised global tariff plan under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 — a separate statute that allows temporary import taxes.
Trump said he had signed a 15 per cent worldwide tariff rate to take effect early Tuesday. That law allows these fresh tariffs to stay in place for around five months before the administration must seek congressional approval.
The Supreme Court’s decision invalidated large parts of the tariffs introduced by Trump on imports from multiple countries. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, joined by three liberal justices and conservatives, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett.
The US will also stop collecting a tranche of import tariffs after the Supreme Court ruled the duties unlawful.
In a statement, the US Customs and Border Protection said tariff collections under the 1977-era International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) will cease at 12.01 am local time (10.30 am IST) Tuesday.
With inputs from agencies
