Days after the US Supreme Court struck down his sweeping global tariffs, Donald Trump claimed the ruling had paradoxically strengthened his authority, giving him greater powers to impose duties under other trade laws.
In a series of posts on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “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 added, “Any Country that wants to ‘play games’ with the ridiculous Supreme Court decision, especially those that have ‘Ripped Off’ the U.S.A. for years, and even decades, will be met with a much higher Tariff, and worse, than that which they just recently agreed to…”
Supreme Court rejects broad tariffs
On February 20, the Supreme Court ruled 6–3 that Trump had exceeded his authority by imposing wide-ranging tariffs under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The law was intended for national security emergencies, not for general trade policy. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, joined by three liberal justices and conservatives Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett.
The decision invalidated large parts of Trump’s tariffs on imports from multiple countries. Following the ruling, the US Customs and Border Protection confirmed that duties collected under IEEPA would cease at 12.01 am local time (10.30 am IST) on Tuesday.
Trump turns setback into leverage
Despite the setback, Trump argued the ruling actually reinforced his authority to use other tariff mechanisms. In his posts, he said the court had validated the use of remaining duties “in a much more powerful and obnoxious way, with legal certainty.” He added, “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.”
Trump did not hold back in attacking the justices, calling the decision “ridiculous” and accusing them of being “unpatriotic and disloyal to the Constitution.”
New 15% global tariffs
Within hours, the White House unveiled a revised tariff plan under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, a separate law allowing temporary import taxes. Trump announced a 15 percent worldwide tariff rate to take effect on Tuesday. Under this law, the tariffs can remain in place for roughly five months unless extended by Congress.
The move signals that, while parts of his initial tariff plan were struck down, Trump is doubling down on a global trade strategy aimed at pressuring other countries and asserting US leverage.
