Kamal Ghorui
US President Donald Trump on Saturday increased the global tariff he had announced a day earlier from 10% to 15%, in a strong reaction to the US Supreme Court’s landmark ruling that dealt a stinging blow to his second tenure as president.In a post on Truth Social, the MAGA supremo blasted the Supreme Court’s ruling as “ridiculous and poorly written” and declared it “extraordinarily anti-American.” A furious Trump wrote, “Based on a thorough, detailed, and complete review of the ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American decision on tariffs issued yesterday, after MANY months of contemplation, by the United States Supreme Court, please let this statement serve to represent that I, as President of the United States of America, will be, effective immediately, raising the 10% Worldwide Tariff on Countries, many of which have been ‘ripping’ the US off for decades, without retribution (until I came along!), to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level.”“During the next short number of months, the Trump Administration will determine and issue the new and legally permissible tariffs, which will continue our extraordinarily successful process of Making America Great Again — GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!!!,” he added further.
The move came after the US Supreme Court declared Trump’s tariff actions illegal and questioned his authority to impose sweeping import duties without congressional approval.Immediately after the ruling, Trump expressed his “deep disappointment” in an agitated tone and said he was “ashamed” of the Supreme Court. He alleged that the judgment had been influenced by “foreign interests.”Taking a jibe at the bench that delivered the 6–3 ruling, Trump said, “They’re so happy. And they’re dancing in the streets, but they won’t be dancing for long. That I can assure you. The Democrats on the court are thrilled, but they will automatically vote no. They’re an automatic no, just like in Congress. They’re an automatic no. They’re against anything that makes America strong, healthy, and great again.”The enraged US president also declared, “I can do anything I want.” Moving ahead using tariff as weapon, Trump invoked Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose a fresh 10 per cent global tariff on imports, which he revised on Saturday to 15 per cent.
Supreme Court’s ruling on Trump tariffs
In a strong rebuttal to Trump, chief justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, said the President does not have the authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977 to impose tariffs. The court stated that “had Congress intended to convey the distinct and extraordinary power to impose tariffs, it would have done so expressly.”The ruling supports earlier decisions by the US Court of International Trade and a federal appeals court. Both courts had found that IEEPA, a law usually used to freeze assets or block financial transactions during national emergencies, does not automatically give the President the power to impose tariffs.Three conservative justices, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Brett Kavanaugh, disagreed with the majority opinion. In their dissent, they argued that the law’s broad language allowing the President to “regulate” economic transactions during a declared emergency should be understood to include the power to impose tariffs.
