President Trump turned to a legal provision older than many of his cabinet members to justify a new 15% tariff on all global imports Saturday, drawing from Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 — a law that has never been invoked by any previous president in the five decades since it was written.
The move came just hours after the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Trump’s previous tariff authority — drawn from the International Emergency Economic Powers Act — was unconstitutional without congressional approval. Legal experts immediately raised doubts about whether the 1974 provision would fare any better in court, noting that its untested nature makes its judicial standing uncertain at best.
Trump described the new tariff as legally valid and immediately effective, posting the announcement on Truth Social with characteristically combative language. He accused foreign nations of exploiting the United States and praised his own move as the kind of bold economic action the country has needed. He simultaneously attacked the Supreme Court justices who ruled against him, calling his own nominees Barrett and Gorsuch “an embarrassment to their families.”
World leaders responded with a mixture of alarm and defiance. Germany’s Chancellor Merz called the tariff uncertainty “poison” for transatlantic economies and announced plans to present a coordinated European response in Washington. France’s Macron used the moment to defend the independence of the judiciary and called for trade decisions based on reciprocity, not executive whim.
The UK faces fresh uncertainty after having negotiated a 10% agreement, while business groups warned of damage to trade and consumer prices. About 90% of the more than $130 billion in tariffs collected so far has been paid by American businesses and consumers. Exemptions include critical minerals, metals, pharmaceuticals, and USMCA-compliant goods from Canada and Mexico.