Trump's Retaliatory Steps After US Supreme Court Strikes Down Trade Tariffs
US President Donald Trump has made another bold move after the US Supreme Court struck down many of the import taxes imposed over the past year. Trump now says he wants to implement a 15% global tariff, up from the 10% he announced just a day earlier.
The conservative-majority US Supreme Court ruled six to three that the 1977 law Trump relied upon to impose sudden levies on specific countries — which disrupted global trade — “does not authorise the President to impose tariffs”.
Trump launched a scathing attack on the Supreme Court ruling, calling it “horrible” and branding the justices who rejected his trade policy as “fools”.
Wasting no time, Trump immediately set a new 10% global tariff using a seldom-invoked regulation known as “Section 122”.
Trump then announced on his social media platform that despite judicial oversight of his powers, he still intends to increase tariffs in unexpected ways. Tariffs have become his favoured tool for reshaping global trade rules and exerting international pressure.
The Supreme Court’s ruling last Friday struck down tariffs Trump had imposed on nearly every country using emergency powers legislation. Trump now says he will use different, albeit more limited, legal authority.
He signed an executive order enabling him to bypass Congress and impose a 10% tax on imports from around the world, effective Tuesday — the same day as his State of the Union address. However, the tariff is capped at 150 days unless extended through legislation.
Meanwhile, the White House did not immediately respond to enquiries about when the president would sign an updated order setting the tariff at 15%.
Trump announced on social media: “Based on a thorough, detailed, and complete review of the nonsensical, poorly written, and very un-American decision on Tariffs issued yesterday.”
The Supreme Court justices, voting 6-3, ruled that Trump’s unilateral setting and modification of tariffs was unconstitutional, as the power to levy taxes rests with Congress.
In addition to the temporary 15% tariff Trump wishes to impose, he also stated he is pursuing tariffs through other sections of federal law requiring investigation by the Department of Commerce. Trump said his administration would issue new tariffs in the coming months.
“Over the next few months, the Trump Administration will determine and issue new legally sound tariffs, which will continue our very successful process of Making America Great Again,” he said on his social media account.
Tariffs have been central to Trump’s economic policy, which he claims addresses a range of issues — from correcting trade imbalances and reviving US manufacturing to compelling other nations to act, whether by stepping up efforts to combat drug trafficking or ceasing hostilities against one another.
He also regularly claims, despite evidence to the contrary, that foreign governments will pay the tariffs rather than American consumers and businesses.
Brazil Urges Trump to Treat All Nations Equally
In response to Trump’s plan to impose a 15% global tariff, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva urged Trump to treat all countries equally.
“I want to tell US President Donald Trump that we do not want a new Cold War. We do not want interference in other countries; we want all nations to be treated equally,” Lula told reporters in New Delhi on Sunday (22 February 2026).
Lula said he did not wish to comment on another country’s Supreme Court ruling but hoped that Brazil’s relationship with the United States “will return to normal” soon.