President Donald Trump escalated his trade battle Friday, blasting the Supreme Court after it struck down his use of emergency powers to impose tariffs and immediately announcing a new 10% global tariff under a different legal authority.
Speaking at a press conference hours after the ruling, Trump said he was "ashamed of certain members of the Court," but praised Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh for their dissent.
"I can do anything I want but not charge one dollar," Trump said, criticizing the Court's decision to block tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the IEEPA does not authorize the president to impose tariffs. The majority held that Article I of the Constitution gives Congress the power to levy duties and taxes.
"The Supreme Court was swayed by interest," Trump said. "Foreign countries are now dancing in the streets, but they won't be dancing for too long."
Trump: 'We Have Alternatives'
Trump defended his broader tariff strategy, pointing to market gains in recent months.
"Our stock market has just recently broken 50,000 on the Dow and broken 7,000 on the S&P," he said. "Nobody thought it was possible to do it within four years, and we did it in one year."
He signaled that he will now pivot quickly.
"The good news is that there are methods, practices, statutes and authorities... that are even stronger than the IEEPA tariffs available to me," Trump said.
"We have alternatives. Great alternatives. I can charge much more than I was charging."
Crucially, Trump said the Court's decision does not meaningfully constrain presidential trade authority.
He cited Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, Sections 122 and 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 and Section 338 of the
Tariff Act of 1930 as viable tools to impose trade restrictions.
Trump confirmed that existing national security tariffs under Section 232 and Section 301 remain "fully in place and in full force and effect."
He also announced he will sign an order imposing a 10% global tariff under Section 122, on top of existing duties.
Section 122 allows temporary tariffs of up to 15% for 150 days to address balance-of-payments issues.
"We'll take in more money than we've taken in before," Trump said.
When asked whether the administration would have to refund the $175 billion in tariff revenue now in limbo, Trump said the Supreme Court did not address the issue, questioned why the opinion failed to clarify whether the government could keep the "hundreds of billions of dollars" already collected and suggested the matter could face years of additional litigation.
"We'll end up being in court for the next five years," Trump said.
Market Reactions
Stocks showed little reaction to Trump's remarks. The S&P 500 - tracked by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust
