In an executive order, President Trump has announced the immediate imposition of a 15% global tariff.
That action came hours after members of the U.S. Supreme Court in a historic 6 to 3 decision ruled as unconstitutional the President’s power to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
In imposing the new tariffs, Trump said he was invoking Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which gives the President the authority to put in place tariffs of up to 15% for a 150-day period.
According to the White House, the 1974 act can be used to address a “large and serious balance-of-payments deficit.” The 150-day cap on the use of that act can only be extended via a vote from Congress.
The Supreme Court decision, announced on Friday, said Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which allows a President to block transactions and seize assets during a national emergency, was not within the law.
Trump contended that because the country’s trade deficit had become so high he could implement the act as an emergency measure. But the Justices disagreed: “The fact that no President has ever found such power in the International Emergency Economic Powers Act is strong evidence that it does not exist,” wrote Chief Justice John Roberts.
In a dissenting opinion, Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that “the tariffs at issue here may or may not be wise policy. But as a matter of text, history, and precedent, they are clearly lawful.”
In early 2025, Trump initially imposed tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico, before expanding that policy to nearly every other country.
According to the site Global Trade Alert, the new Trump tariffs will prompt a 35% fee increase on iron and steel articles, followed by furniture and lighting at 24%, and machinery at around 17%.
February 23, 2026
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of US Supreme Court
