Trump Imposes New 10% Tariffs On Most U.S. Imports After Supreme Court Strikes Down Earlier Levies
President Donald Trump is rolling out a new 10 percent tariff on nearly every product imported into the United States, a move that comes in the wake of a recent Supreme Court ruling that struck down the vast majority of import levies his administration put in place last year.
In an executive order signed Friday evening, Trump carved out a small set of exemptions to the new measure. Those exceptions cover imports of critical minerals, beef, fresh fruit, passenger vehicles, and pharmaceutical products, as well as all goods shipped from Canada and Mexico. The new tariffs are scheduled to go into effect on February 24, 2026.
During a press conference held earlier Friday afternoon, Trump launched an angry, personal tirade in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling. He labeled the six justices who voted against his original trade policies “a disgrace to our nation.” When pressed by a reporter about why two of his own Supreme Court nominees — Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett — voted to overturn the original tariffs, Trump attacked the pair, calling them “an embarrassment to their families.”
Trump’s new trade action relies on Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act, a provision that grants the president unilateral authority to immediately implement tariffs of up to 15 percent when the U.S. faces “large and serious” trade deficits. Under the law, these tariffs can only remain in place for 150 days, unless Congress passes legislation to extend them. Just like the prior tariffs Trump imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), this marks the first time a sitting U.S. president has ever used this statute in this fashion.
Gregory Husisian, a partner and litigation attorney at Foley & Lardner LLP whose firm has assisted more than 100 companies file petitions for tariff refunds, notes that Trump has the ability to keep reissuing Section 122 tariffs after the 150-day window closes. Alternatively, the administration could use the 150-day period to lay the groundwork for alternative tariffs under different legal authorities, effectively switching legal justifications to keep the same import restrictions in place. “[Section 122 tariffs] are for a limited time period, so it's going to be a bridge authority,” Husisian explained.
During that window, the Trump administration could also speed up trade investigations rooted in claims of national security risks or unfair foreign trade practices — the required precursor to imposing tariffs under Section 232 and Section 301 of existing trade law. “We are also initiating several Section 301 and other investigations to protect our country from unfair trade practices of other countries and companies,” Trump said at the press conference, referencing these slower-to-implement alternative tariff options.
In a separate executive order, the administration confirmed that the suspension of the de minimis exemption will remain in place even after the court struck down tariffs imposed under IEEPA. The de minimis rule previously excused e-commerce packages valued under $800 from import taxation; its elimination last year led to massive processing backlogs at U.S. border crossings and pushed up prices for shoppers on low-cost online retail platforms.
Trump offered no clear details about what will happen to companies seeking refunds for tariffs they paid under the now-overturned policy. The Supreme Court’s ruling also did not outline whether or how those tariff payments should be returned to importers. When asked about the refund issue by a reporter, Trump said he expected the matter to be litigated in court.
Legal experts who spoke to WIRED say the refund process is almost certain to be messy and drawn out. Companies will likely have to file individual claims and calculate exactly how much money they believe they are owed, and the government could push back on those calculations in many cases. The entire process could take anywhere from a few months to more than two years to resolve, experts add.
The Supreme Court’s ruling made clear that while IEEPA grants the president broad emergency powers, that authority does not extend to imposing taxes. But Trump repeatedly distorted the holding during his press conference. “But now the court has given me the unquestioned right to ban all sorts of things from coming into our country, to destroy foreign countries … but not the right to charge a fee,” he claimed. “How crazy is that?”
At multiple points, the press conference devolved into rambling off-topic rants about unrelated issues, including Trump’s claim that Europe has become too woke and his longstanding dislike of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. When discussing the court’s interpretation of the text of IEEPA, Trump abruptly interrupted the topic to brag about his own reading comprehension skills. “I read the paragraphs. I read very well. Great comprehension,” he said.
