President Trump’s tariff policy has been upended. In a major ruling last Friday, the nation’s highest court struck down the Trump administration’s tariff policy, one enacted by executive order. The 6-3 decision, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, determined that President Trump exceeded his powers by invoking the Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs on an ad hoc basis.
Over the weekend, the President expressed his frustration with the court in several Truth Social posts. He called the opinion “ridiculous” and criticized two of his appointees — Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett — for ruling against him. However, President Trump praised Justice Brett Kavanaugh who wrote the dissenting opinion, calling the justice, his “my new hero.”
Despite his frustration with the court, Trump rescinded many of the tariffs he previously imposed.
Dominick Tavella, President and Chief Investment Officer of Lebenthal Global Advisors, told Drew Mariani that the ruling was not surprising. Now, Tavella says, the Administration is looking into plan B “to figure out a way to come back and impose some of these tariffs and then deal with it going forward.”
Part of that plan begins with a global 10% tariff, which Trump imposed on Tuesday invoking section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. According to the White House, these tariffs will be imposed “for a period of 150 days” to address “fundamental international payment problems.”
Tavella told Drew the IEEPA tariffs allowed the President to have maximum leverage over other countries, “The Trump administration wanted the flexibility to argue on a country-by-country basis,” he told Drew. This new approach, however, means the Administration will lose, “some of their negotiating power” with other countries, he said.
The President argued on Truth Social that he did not have to ask congress for the power to enact new tariffs, “As President, I do not have to go back to Congress to get approval of Tariffs. It has already been gotten, in many forms, a long time ago.”
However, there are some in Congress who would like to enact Trump’s tariff agenda. Sen Bernie Moreno (R-OH) has called on Congress to “to work immediately on a reconciliation bill to codify the tariffs that had made our country the hottest country on earth!”
Other Republicans, like Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), lauded the Court decision. “In defense of our Republic, the Supreme Court struck down using emergency powers to enact taxes. This ruling will also prevent a future President such as AOC from using emergency powers to enact socialism,” he wrote on X.