Trump Responds, Issues Global 10% Tariff on all Countries

The United States Supreme Court struck down some of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Friday, delivering the President a rare loss. As the Globe reported, the ruling impacts the 10 percent tariff Trump imposed on most countries, as well as specific, higher tariffs on some of the top U.S. trading partners, including Canada, Mexico, China, the European Union, Japan and South Korea.

The President reacted immediately and said while he was disappointed, it was not going to prevent him from a workaround to re-issue tariffs, under a different section of federal law.

And during a press conference Friday, the President congratulated Justices Alito, Thomas and Kavanaugh for their “love of country.” He said about the dissenting opinions by Alito, Thomas and Kavanaugh, “no one can argue against them. Foreign countries have been ripping us off for a long time.”

Here is part of that dissenting opinion:

JUSTICE KAVANAUGH, with whom JUSTICE THOMAS and
JUSTICE ALITO join, dissenting.
Acting pursuant to his statutory authority to “regulate
. . . importation” under the 1977 International Emergency
Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, the President has imposed
tariffs on imports of foreign goods from various countries.
The tariffs have generated vigorous policy debates. Those
policy debates are not for the Federal Judiciary to resolve.
Rather, the Judiciary’s more limited role is to neutrally
interpret and apply the law. The sole legal question here is
whether, under IEEPA, tariffs are a means to “regulate . . .
importation.” Statutory text, history, and precedent
demonstrate that the answer is clearly yes: Like quotas
and embargoes, tariffs are a traditional and common tool to regulate importation.

Kavanaugh notes:

Since early in U. S. history, Congress has regularly
authorized the President to impose tariffs on imports of
foreign goods. Presidents have often used that authority to
obtain leverage with foreign nations, help American
manufacturers and workers compete on a more level
playing field, and generate revenue for the United States.

And they address that In recent years, Presidents George W. Bush, Obama, and Biden have all imposed tariffs on foreign imports under those statutory authorities.

Under IEEPA, and during national emergencies, the President has the authority to impose tariffs, Kavanaugh argues:

During declared national
emergencies, IEEPA broadly authorizes the President to
regulate international economic transactions. Most
relevant for this case, during those national emergencies,
IEEPA grants the President the power to “regulate . . .
importation” of foreign goods.
In early 2025, President Trump declared two national
emergencies pursuant to the National Emergencies Act.
See 50 U. S. C. §1621(a). One emergency concerned drug
trafficking into the United States. The other emergency
involved trade imbalances with foreign nations that have
harmed American manufacturers and workers.
To help address those emergencies, the President drew
upon his authority in IEEPA to “regulate . . . importation,”
and he imposed tariffs on imports from various countries.

Justice Kavanaugh even provides the definition of tariff:

Imposing tariffs on imports is clearly a way of controlling
imports (Black’s); governing or directing imports according
to rule (Webster’s, American Heritage); adjusting imports
by rule, method, or established mode (Black’s, American
Heritage); or more generally subjecting imports to
governing principles or laws (Black’s). So the dictionary
definitions amply demonstrate that tariffs are a means to
“regulate . . . importation” of foreign imports.

And Kavanaugh offers the roadmap going forward:

Although I firmly disagree with the Court’s holding
today, the decision might not substantially constrain a
President’s ability to order tariffs going forward. That is
because numerous other federal statutes authorize the
President to impose tariffs and might justify most (if not
all) of the tariffs at issue in this case—albeit perhaps with
a few additional procedural steps that IEEPA, as an
emergency statute, does not require. Those statutes
include, for example, the Trade Expansion Act of 1962
(Section 232); the Trade Act of 1974 (Sections 122, 201, and301); and the Tariff Act of 1930 (Section 338).

In essence, the Court today concludes that the President checked the
wrong statutory box by relying on IEEPA rather than
another statute to impose these tariffs.

Wow.

President Trump spelled out his disappointment and frustrations with the court, and wasted no time acting. He posted his decisions on Truth Social:

It is my Great Honor to have just signed, from the Oval Office, a Global 10% Tariff on all Countries, which will be effective almost immediately. Thank you for your attention to this matter! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP

What happened today with the two United States Supreme Court Justices that I appointed against great opposition, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, whether people like it or not, never seems to happen with Democrats. They vote against the Republicans, and never against themselves, almost every single time, no matter how good a case we have. At least I didn’t appoint Roberts, who led the effort to allow Foreign Countries that have been ripping us off for years to continue to do so — But we won’t let it happen. The new TARIFFS, totally tested and accepted as Law, are on their way! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP

and:

Based on a thorough, detailed, and complete review of the ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American decision on Tariffs issued yesterday, after MANY months of contemplation, by the United States Supreme Court, please let this statement serve to represent that I, as President of the United States of America, will be, effective immediately, raising the 10% Worldwide Tariff on Countries, many of which have been “ripping” the U.S. off for decades, without retribution (until I came along!), to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level. During the next short number of months, the Trump Administration will determine and issue the new and legally permissible Tariffs, which will continue our extraordinarily successful process of Making America Great Again – GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!!! Thank you for your attention to this matter. President DONALD J. TRUMP

Here are his orders, proclamations and statements:

• Imposing a Temporary Import Surcharge to Address Fundamental International Payments Problems

  February 20, 2026

• Continuing the Suspension of Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for All Countries

  February 20, 2026

• Ending Certain Tariff Actions

  February 20, 2026