Trump Shifts Legal Basis To Maintain Trade Strategy

Washington opens a new explosive trade front. After being overruled by the Supreme Court on his use of emergency powers, Donald Trump immediately announced a 10 % global tariff on imports. This decision renews trade tensions at a time when markets remain particularly sensitive to political shocks. Between institutional confrontation, alternative legal strategy, and increased volatility risk, this episode could have effects far beyond U.S. borders.

The Supreme Court invalidates the use of emergency powers to impose tariffs

The United States Supreme Court ruled this Friday that President Donald Trump could not use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs during peacetime.

The president had invoked this law to justify tariff measures targeting several trade partners, citing arguments related to national security and public health.

The challenged measures notably included :

• 25% tariffs on most goods from Canada and Mexico ;
• 10% tariffs on products imported from China ;
• A justification based on an alleged “public health crisis” related to the influx of foreign drugs;
• An argument citing threats to the American industrial base.

The Supreme Court rejected these legal grounds. In its decision, it clarifies : “In half a century of IEEPA’s existence, no president has ever invoked this law to impose tariffs, let alone tariffs of such scale and scope.” It also recalls the constitutional framework: “Article I, Section 8, of the Constitution specifies that Congress shall have the power to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts, and excises. The framers of the Constitution recognized the singular importance of this fiscal power.”

By this decision, the court affirms that the executive does not have the necessary authority to establish tariffs under the guise of national emergency during peacetime, reaffirming Congress’s central role in fiscal and trade matters.

Trump announces a 10% global tariff and maintains other trade levers

In immediate response to the decision, Donald Trump sharply criticized the Supreme Court, calling the ruling ridiculous during a Friday press conference. The president announced a change in the legal basis to continue his trade policy.

He declared : “effective immediately. All tariffs related to national security under Section 232 as well as those under Section 301 remain fully in force and continue to apply in full. Today, I will sign an order establishing a 10 % global tariff under Section 122, in addition to the usual tariffs already collected.”

This new measure thus provides for an overall 10 % tariff applied under Section 122, supplementing existing tariffs. Tariffs under Sections 232, related to national security, as well as those under Section 301 regarding trade practices, remain maintained according to the president. The presidential response is therefore based on a legal redeployment rather than an abandonment of the tariff strategy.

Financial markets have historically reacted sensitively to tariff announcements from the Trump administration. According to the article analyzed, these decisions have “repeatedly caused sharp declines in markets considered risky, notably cryptos and stocks,” trade tensions fueling uncertainty and affecting investor confidence. Investors are already monitoring the potential impact on bitcoin, often sensitive to macroeconomic shocks and trade tensions.

The institutional showdown opens a new zone of economic uncertainty. If trade tensions intensify, risky assets might wobble. In this unstable climate, some observers already fear that the crypto market could plunge into extreme fear! The next political and judicial reactions will be decisive.