US President Donald Trump said he will impose global tariffs of 15% after the Supreme Court struck down his earlier import taxes, setting up a new, temporary levy under a rarely used trade law while legal, political, and commercial responses unfold.
Shift From 10% Plan To 15% Levy
Trump said on Friday that he would replace the tariffs voided by the court with a 10% levy on all goods entering the United States. On Saturday, he posted on Truth Social that the rate would rise to the maximum allowed under a trade law that has not been used before. That law allows the tariffs to remain in place for about five months before the administration must seek congressional approval.
The 10% tariffs had been scheduled to take effect on Tuesday, 24 February. It was not clear whether the higher 15% rate would begin on the same date. The BBC said it contacted the White House for clarification.
The new 15% rate would operate under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. Countries such as the UK and Australia, which had agreed to 10% tariff arrangements with the US, now face questions about how the change will apply to their trade with the US.
Trump said the decision followed a review of what he called the Supreme Court’s “ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American decision on Tariffs issued yesterday.”
Supreme Court Decision And Its Basis
In a 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court found that the president exceeded his authority when he introduced broad global tariffs last year using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, a 1977 law. The court’s decision removed the legal basis for those measures.
Government data shows the US had already collected at least $130bn (£96.4bn) in tariffs using IEEPA. After the ruling, Trump said he was “ashamed of certain members of the court” and called the justices who rejected his policy “fools.”
Trump has described tariffs as a central part of his economic policy and has said they are intended to encourage companies to invest and manufacture in the US rather than abroad. The ruling marked a check on that approach. The US trade deficit widened by 2.1% compared with 2024 and reached about $1.2tn (£890bn) this week.
Scope Of The New Tariffs And Existing Measures
Under Section 122, US businesses would pay a 15% tariff to import most goods into the country. Some products would be exempt, including critical minerals, metals, and pharmaceuticals.
Separate tariffs on steel, aluminium, lumber, and automotive products, which were introduced using other US laws, remain in place and were not affected by the Supreme Court ruling.
On Friday, a White House official said countries that had previously reached trade deals with the US, including the UK, would face the global tariff under Section 122 rather than their earlier negotiated rates. The UK government said it expects Britain’s “privileged trading position with the US” to continue and said it is for the US to decide whether those deals still stand. UK arrangements covering steel, aluminium, pharmaceuticals, autos, and aerospace, which account for most UK-US trade, were not affected.
Reactions From Business And Trade Groups
Drew Greenblatt, owner of Marlin Steel Wire Products in Baltimore, said he was “very disappointed” by the Supreme Court’s decision. He told the BBC that it was “a setback for poor people in America that had a chance to climb into the middle class with great manufacturing jobs.”
John Boyd, a soybean farmer from Virginia and founder of the National Black Farmers Association, said the ruling was “a huge win for me and a big loss for the president,” adding, “I don’t care how you look at it, President Trump lost on this.”
Allie Renison, a former UK government trade adviser and director at SEC Newgate, said that while the ruling might appear positive for free trade, “trade actually just got a lot messier,” and said businesses now face a “much more of a patchwork approach” to tariffs.
William Bain, head of trade policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said he feared the president’s response “could be worse for British businesses.” The head of a UK business group said the new 15% import tariffs are “bad for trade, bad for US consumers and businesses” and will “weaken global economic growth.”
The chairman of the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee said he would call for a pause in ratifying a trade deal between the EU and the US after Trump’s announcement. The committee was due to vote on the deal on Tuesday, but German Social Democrat MEP Bernd Lange said the new tariffs raised “several issues” that need clarification.
Refund Questions After The Ruling
The Supreme Court decision opened the door for consumers and businesses to seek refunds of tariffs collected under the invalidated law, though the court did not rule on whether reimbursements must be issued.
On Friday, Trump said refunds would not happen without a legal fight that could take years. Companies and trade groups said they plan to seek reimbursements.
Neil Bradley, chief policy officer at the US Chamber of Commerce, said “swift refunds of the impermissible tariffs will be meaningful for the more than 200,000 small business importers in this country and will help support stronger economic growth this year.” The National Retail Federation urged the courts “to ensure a seamless process to refund the tariffs to US importers.”
US Senator Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington state, wrote to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent asking whether the administration has a plan to refund businesses. In her letter, she said the administration has “illegally collected hundreds of billions of dollars from American businesses” and requested details on how payers would be reimbursed.
Senator John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, said that if Democrats push for refunds, it could backfire and help Republicans in the next election cycle. He said refunds could benefit the US business community and make the economy “roar” ahead of the November midterm elections.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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