Trump to Impose 10% Global Tariff After Supreme Court Defeat

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(Bloomberg) — President Donald Trump said he would sign an order imposing a 10% global tariff after the Supreme Court struck down the bulk of the levies he imposed last year, and pledged a raft of investigations that could allow him to enact more import taxes.

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“The Supreme Court did not overrule tariffs, they merely overruled a particular use of IEEPA tariffs,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday, referencing the emergency authorities that the high court found illegal. “Now I’m going to go in a different direction, probably the direction that I should have gone the first time.”

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Trump said he would pursue the baseline duty under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which grants the president unilateral ability to impose tariffs. But the untested legal provision — under which a president can impose up to 15% baseline tariffs — puts a 150-day limit on how long the duties can remain in place. Trump said he expected the new baseline rate to go into effect “three days from now.”

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Trump also said he’d launch additional investigations under Section 301 and Section 232, which he has previously used to place duties on Chinese exports, automobiles and metals. He suggested that those investigations could be carried out while the 10% baseline was in place, and eventually replace them — though he declined to rule out whether he could also seek a renewal of the Section 122 levies. Trump said he was eyeing tariffs on foreign cars ranging from 15% to 30%.

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Bond yields pared an earlier advance and stocks extended gains after Trump announced the plan for a 10% duty.

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Trump opened his remarks by delivering a broadside against the Supreme Court, saying he was “ashamed of certain members” and that some of the justices were “frankly a disgrace to our nation.”

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“They’re very unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution,” Trump said, suggesting the justices may have been swayed by foreign interests. 

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Trump said the court’s decision didn’t make sense because he had the power to fully embargo trade from a country but not impose tariffs on its goods. He also said he was frustrated that the decision would allow him to issue licenses but not impose related fees.

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The court ruled 6-3 that Trump had exceeded his authority by invoking a federal emergency-powers law to impose his “reciprocal” tariffs across the globe as well as targeted import taxes the administration says address fentanyl trafficking. Two justices appointed by Trump in his first term — Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett — joined the majority in striking down the tariffs.

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Trump said he did not want to say if he regretted nominating Barrett and Gorsuch to the high court, but that he thought their decision was “an embarrassment to their families.”

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The ruling didn’t address the extent to which importers are entitled to refunds, leaving it to a lower court to sort out those issues. If fully allowed, refunds could total as much as $170 billion — more than half the total revenue Trump’s tariffs have brought in.