After the defeat by the Supreme Court of his country on the tariff front, the US President has made his trade policy even more harsh. On Friday, he signed the order to impose 10 percent extra tariff on the entire world. This tariff will be applicable for the next 5 months. This extra tariff will be implemented from 24th February. According to the White House fact sheet, this new fee will be effective from 12:01 am on February 24.
Trump told a briefing that he is ordering new tariffs under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which will be in addition to the existing tariffs. These duties will partially replace tariffs ranging from 10 percent to 50 percent under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, which was declared illegal by the Supreme Court. Trump later said on Truth Social that he has signed an order imposing tariffs on all countries, which will take effect almost immediately.
Under Section 122, the President is allowed to impose a duty of up to 15 percent on any country for 150 days to address “major and serious” balance of payments problems. The special thing is that it has never been used. It does not require any investigation or other procedural limitations. After 150 days, Congress must approve its extension.
In his first public comments after the decision, he said all those fees would remain in place. Even after the decision. Trump said that effective immediately, all national security charges, including Section 232 and existing Section 301 charges, will remain in place and remain in full effect. Today I will sign an order imposing a 10 percent global tariff duty under Section 122, which will be in addition to the normal duties we are already imposing.
I can do whatever I want: Trump
Angered by the US Supreme Court’s dissent against his orders, Trump warned that he would look for alternative ways to maintain tariff revenue. Speaking to reporters at the White House, he said we have ‘options’, which could include more money. We’ll keep taking more money, we’ll keep taking billions of dollars. The US President further said that in the next 5 months, we are conducting several investigations to impose additional tariffs on countries by examining trade practices.
Trump further said that the good news is that there are methods, practices, laws, and rights recognized by the entire court… that are even more powerful than the IEEPA tariffs available to me as President of the United States.
Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court ruled by a 6-3 majority that Trump had violated his authority by using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose sweeping import tariffs. The Court ruled that the Emergency Powers Act of 1977 does not give the President explicit authority to tax – that power is assigned to Congress under the US Constitution. Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.
Trump disappointed
Responding sharply to this decision, Trump called it “extremely disappointing”. He said that the Supreme Court’s decision on tariffs is extremely disappointing, and further said that the foreign countries which are exploiting us are very happy. Trump said that I am extremely ashamed of not doing the right thing for my country. He said that I feel ashamed of some members of the court.
Praising the dissenting opinions, he said that when you read the dissenting opinions, no one can argue against them. Trump also alleged undue influence behind the decision. He said about some members of the court that they are traitors and disloyal to our Constitution. He said that the court has been influenced by foreign interests.
At the same time, he also acknowledged the limitations imposed by the decision. He said that the court says that we cannot recover even 1 dollar under IEEPA. He said how ridiculous is this? I cannot extort even a single dollar from any country, but I can ruin them. He further said that I can ruin the business, ruin the country, but I cannot recover even a single dollar.
Trump said he took no action while the case was pending. He said that I wanted to be very restrained, I did not want to do anything that would affect the court’s decision. I want to be a good boy. He also criticized his political opponents regarding this legal challenge, saying that the Democrats are against everything that makes America healthy and great again.
court decision
The decision is one of the most significant legal defeats of Trump’s second term and will have serious implications for US trade policy. The IEEPA allows the President to regulate certain economic transactions after declaring a national emergency to address an “unusual and extraordinary threat emanating from outside the United States.” Historically, this law has been used to impose sanctions, freeze foreign assets, or restrict financial flows – not to impose tariffs.
Trump became the first president to use this law to impose tariffs, arguing that the authority to “regulate” imports during a national emergency includes the power to impose tariffs. The Supreme Court rejected this interpretation. The tariffs were challenged in several lawsuits filed by small businesses and 12 US states (most of which are governed by Democrats) after lower courts found that the administration had overstepped its authority under IEEPA.
Legal challenges and their impact
These cases were related to three separate legal actions, one of which was filed by five small import companies and the other by the states of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Vermont. In a related case, a federal judge ruled in favor of Learning Resources, a family-owned toy company that had argued that the emergency powers statute did not authorize tariffs.
Tariffs have been central to Trump’s economic and foreign policy strategy in his second term. On April 2 – which he declared “Liberation Day” – he announced the imposition of tariffs, citing a national emergency arising from the persistent trade deficit. In February and March 2025, he also used the IEEPA to impose tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico, citing fentanyl trafficking and stopping illegal drugs.
After these announcements, there was panic in the financial markets of the world. At the same time, relations with America’s trading partners became tense. According to the Congressional Budget Office, maintaining the tariffs could result in an economic loss of nearly $3 trillion over the next decade. The decision does not prevent Trump from imposing tariffs under other statutory powers, but it significantly limits the legal basis for his emergency trade framework.