President Donald Trump announced Friday night that he has signed an executive order imposing a new 10% “universal tariff”, hours after the Supreme Court struck down a wide range of “reciprocal” import tariffs in a major rebuke of Trump’s trade policies.
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump said the Section 122 tariffs would go into effect “almost immediately.”
These are on top of the surcharges that remain in place after a high court ruling invalidated tariffs that President Trump imposed using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
At a White House press conference Friday afternoon, President Trump slammed the 6-3 “very disappointing” ruling.
“I’m ashamed of some of the people on the court, and I’m totally ashamed of their lack of courage to do what’s right for our country,” Trump said.
The ruling invalidated the legal basis for many of the tariffs that President Trump has argued are essential to rebuilding the U.S. economy and America’s shrinking manufacturing base.
Both President Trump’s reciprocal tariffs and drug trafficking-related obligations depended on the Trump administration’s expanded interpretation of IEEPA. But a majority of the court ruled Friday that IEEPA “does not authorize the President to impose tariffs.”
White House officials told CNBC late Friday that the new 10% global tariff with a 150-day term would effectively replace the IEEPA tariffs.
This could mean lower U.S. tariff rates for some countries that have signed or continue trade deals with the Trump administration.
Many of these countries and regions faced U.S. tariffs of more than 10% as part of the deal. For example, the European Union agreed to 15% tariffs as part of its trade deal with the United States.
These tariffs were primarily implemented under the IEEPA, meaning they were invalidated as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision.
This restructuring could be significant for China, which faces two sets of 10% tariffs from the United States under IEEPA, on top of the ongoing 25% tariff. These IEEPA tariffs will be replaced by President Trump’s new global tariffs, totaling China’s tax rate of 35%, a White House official told CNBC.
President Trump has been adamant that he will find another way to impose tariffs without Congress. And White House officials noted that as the administration works on additional legal tariff channels, the tax rates imposed on countries could return to higher levels.
Asked at a press conference Friday why he didn’t want to work with the Legislature, Trump said, “There’s no need. I have the right to impose tariffs.”
President Trump’s comments oscillated between defiant and scathing. He even went after his nominees Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett after they voted with a majority.
“I think their decision was a terrible one,” Trump said. “I think it’s embarrassing for their families. They both want to know the truth.”
The new tariff order invokes Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. Tariffs enacted under the law last only 150 days, and extensions require Congressional approval.
“We have the right to do pretty much anything we want to do,” Trump said at a news conference, when asked about the deadline and getting support from Congress.
President Trump also declared that all tariffs imposed under the laws known as Sections 232 and 301 “remain in full force and effect.”
The Trump administration has also invoked Section 301 to launch multiple investigations into possible unfair trade practices, which could result in additional new tariffs, Trump said.
Most of the US tariff revenue generated last year came from IEEPA tariffs.
President Trump said on Friday that “other alternatives will be used in the future to replace the proposal that the court erroneously rejected.”
“We will accept more funding and will be even stronger because of it,” he said.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking at the Dallas Economic Club shortly after President Trump, said the administration intends to replace the rejected IEEPA tariffs by leveraging a number of other existing tariff laws.
That way, “tariff revenue in 2026 would be essentially unchanged,” Bessent said. “No one should expect customs revenue to decline.”
—CNBC’s Eamon Javers contributed to this report.
