What looked like a major blow to President Trump’s economic agenda on Friday became, within hours, the catalyst for an even more aggressive trade move. On Saturday, Trump announced a 15% universal tariff on all imports, using an obscure provision of a 1974 trade law that no president has ever deployed before.
The Supreme Court’s 6-3 ruling Friday declared Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act unconstitutional, finding that tariffs of this scope required congressional authorization. The president dismissed the ruling as “ridiculous” and “anti-American” and immediately pivoted to Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows tariffs up to 15% for 150 days before legislative approval is needed.
Trump posted his announcement on Truth Social, framing foreign countries as long-time exploiters of American trade generosity. His tone was combative throughout, and he reserved particular anger for justices who ruled against him — including calling his own nominees Barrett and Gorsuch “an embarrassment to their families” and suggesting they barely merited an invitation to the State of the Union.
European leaders scrambled to respond. Germany’s Chancellor Merz announced a trip to Washington to present a unified EU position, warning that tariff uncertainty was acting as economic poison. France’s Macron praised the role of judicial checks and balances. The UK, previously holding a 10% rate, faces a new and higher baseline of uncertainty.
Sector-specific tariffs on steel, aluminum, lumber, and autos remain in place under separate legal authority. Critical minerals, metals, pharmaceuticals, and USMCA-compliant goods are exempt from the new rate. Roughly 90% of the $130 billion in tariffs collected have been paid by US consumers and businesses, a burden set to grow under the new regime.
