Tariffs junked, Trump takes new route

President invokes other legal provisions after setback from US Supreme Court, says no change in trade deal with India, others

- Shashank Mattoo and Rajeev Jayaswal

The US Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff regime in a 6-3 ruling on Friday - and within hours, Trump said he would sign a fresh executive order imposing a 10% global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, moving to replace the legal architecture the court had just demolished.

Trump also confirmed that all existing Section 232 national security tariffs and Section 301 tariffs would remain fully in force, and announced the initiation of fresh Section 301 investigations into the trading practices of multiple countries. The ruling, and Trump's immediate countermove, together mean that while the legal basis for the tariffs has shifted, the tariffs themselves have not gone away — at least not fully.

The Supreme Court had ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977 — which Trump had used since April 2025 to impose sweeping tariffs on nearly every US trading partner — did not authorise the President to levy tariffs, a move the court said was illegal.

The ruling is still a blow for the Trump administration.

Estimates of the tariffs paid range from $129 billion to $175 billion—the lower figure from US Customs and Border Protection data through December 10, the higher from Penn-Wharton Budget Model economists.

US businesses that imported merchandise had started filing suits seeking refunds in December, in anticipation of an adverse ruling. The refund process is unlikely to be swift. Those who sued early will likely be repaid more quickly, while companies face the challenge of reconstructing detailed import data across multiple tariff regimes applied at different times.

Trump said that the trade deal with India, an initial framework for which was announced earlier this month, will not change.