Trump to impose 10% global tariff after sweeping levies were ruled illegal
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More news: US President Donald Trump said that he will sign an executive order imposing a new 10% “global tariff” using an alternative law, after the US Supreme Court ruled that his signature tariffs were illegal.
During a press conference responding to the landmark repudiation from the country’s top court on Friday, Trump said: “Other alternatives will now be used to replace the new ones that the court incorrectly rejected. We have alternatives, great alternatives could be more money, we’ll take in more money,” he added.
Trump said he would impose a 10% levy on top of “our normal tariffs already being charged”, using the Trade Act of 1974. The Act allows the President to set import restrictions for up to 150 days.
Trump criticised the 6–3 ruling handed down earlier in the day, saying it was “deeply disappointing and I’m ashamed of certain members of the court”.
The decision held that the President had exceeded his authority by invoking federal emergency-powers law, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), to impose his so-called reciprocal tariffs globally. The administration’s targeted import taxes to address fentanyl trafficking were also found to exceed the President’s authority.
Trump’s global trade tariffs struck down by US Supreme Court
The news: The US Supreme Court has ruled that President Donald Trump’s tariffs are illegal, delivering a significant blow to one of the White House’s signature policies rolled-out in April 2025.
The context: In a 6-3 vote, the court said Trump exceeded his authority by invoking federal emergency-powers law, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), to impose his so-called reciprocal tariffs globally. The administration’s targeted import taxes to address fentanyl trafficking were also found to exceed the President’s authority.
The court did not address the extent to which importers may be entitled to refunds, but if fully allowed, Bloomberg reports the refunds could total as much as USD170 billion ($240.24 billion), more than half the revenue the tariffs have brought in. The ruling will not affect tariffs imposed on individual sectors including metals, chips and cars.
The decision is a result of legal action brought by a collective of small businesses and 12 US states after the US introduced tariffs ranging from 10% up to 49% which drastically impacted global trade. Exports from Australia to the US were subject to a 10% tariff.
The US ended 2025 with an effective tariff rate of more than 10%, its highest rate since WWII.
The court said that when Congress has delegated its tariff powers, “it has done so in explicit terms and subject to strict limits.”
“Against that backdrop of clear and limited delegations, the Government reads IEEPA to give the President power to unilaterally impose unbounded tariffs and change them at will,” the court said. “That view would represent a transformative expansion of the President’s authority over tariff policy.”
Three conservative justices, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh, dissented, with Kavanaugh stating that the refund process was “likely to be a ‘mess,’” as was acknowledged at oral argument.”
The White House has not immediately responded to the decision.
The sources: US Supreme Court, WSJ, Bloomberg, CNBC, ABC
