Supreme Court rejects Trump's tariffs. The president is already rolling out new ones.

By Robert Schroeder and Victor Reklaitis

Trump announced new 10% global tariffs after the ruling, and subsequently raised them to 15%

The Supreme Court has struck down a key segment of President Donald Trump's tariffs, which will force the White House to turn to other authorities to carry out its economic policies.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday dealt a blow to President Donald Trump's economic agenda, saying he exceeded his authority in using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to justify most of his tariffs.

The majority opinion from the high court, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, found that the 1977 law gives the president a "lengthy list of specific powers" but does not include "any mention of tariffs or duties."

"Had Congress intended to convey the distinct and extraordinary power to impose tariffs, it would have done so expressly, as it consistently has in other tariff statutes," says the opinion, which was supported by a 6-3 majority of the court. Justices Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh and Clarence Thomas dissented.

Yet the Supreme Court's decision does not mean Trump is now entirely unable to slap tariffs on other countries' products. The president, for example, has at his disposal Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, the same tool he used to impose import taxes on steel, aluminum, lumber and furniture. The Supreme Court case did not address his sector-based tariffs. There is also Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, used during Trump's first term to put tariffs on Chinese goods.

Trump called the decision "deeply disappointing" in a statement at the White House and told reporters that he would impose a 10% global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. He also said the administration will open several Section 301 probes. The U.S. will "take in more money" through other tariffs in place of the IEEPA tariffs, Trump claimed.

In a subsequent social-media post on Saturday morning, Trump announced that he was raising that global tariff to 15%.

The ruling by the Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, comes after lower courts found that Trump exceeded his authority in using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to justify his many country-specific tariffs. The court heard oral arguments in the case on Nov. 5, and the likelihood of a ruling in Trump's favor dropped at that time, as some conservative justices' questions for the president's attorney were perceived to be especially skeptical.

Opponents of the IEEPA tariffs have emphasized that the law doesn't explicitly mention tariffs in its text and have noted that no president has ever used it to impose tariffs.

Trump has vehemently defended his tariffs and claimed that the U.S. economy would be "immeasurably hurt" if the Supreme Court struck them down. He argued during a "60 Minutes" interview that aired in November that the tariffs helped push stocks to record highs and that the U.S. economy "will go to hell" if they are rejected by the court.

The Supreme Court's rejection of the IEEPA tariffs may now trigger a complicated process of refunding the billions of dollars that have already been paid to the U.S. government.

Now read: Will American companies get tariff refunds after the Supreme Court decision? What we know so far.

The rejection of the IEEPA tariffs, plus Trump's expected use of other tariff powers, could cause "a lot of uncertainty" and amount to a negative for the economy, according to a top Federal Reserve official.

"It will cause a lot of uncertainty about which tariffs are sticking and which aren't," Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari told CNBC earlier this year. "I do think it could lead to a burst of uncertainty, which could be a damper on activity."

Kavanaugh warned in a dissenting opinion about possible "substantial" effects of the majority's decision as he pointed to the potential for refunds.

"The United States may be required to refund billions of dollars to importers who paid the IEEPA tariffs, even though some importers may have already passed on costs to consumers or others. As was acknowledged at oral argument, the refund process is likely to be a 'mess,' " Kavanaugh wrote in his opinion, which was released Friday alongside the majority's opinion.

Market strategists have been divided over what the court's much-anticipated decision would mean for stocks, as MarketWatch has reported. Some forecasters have said tossing out the IEEPA tariffs would mean more uncertainty, which would weigh on stocks, while others have said eliminating the import taxes would boost both economic growth and equities.

The S&P 500 index SPX jumped following the court's ruling, then erased much of its gain but recently was up again near its session peak. The yield for the 10-year Treasury note BX:TMUBMUSD10Y also was higher.

Ahead of the decision by the Supreme Court, Raymond James analysts said if there were "a ruling striking down the tariffs, we will be watching for near-term reactions in tariff-exposed equities (e.g., retail XRT) that is ultimately tempered by the reality that tariffs are here to stay."

See: Retailers could win big on a repeal of Trump's tariffs. Here's why the stocks aren't rising.

"We have consistently highlighted that other tariff authorities are available to the president, and the administration has confirmed its intent to use them," the analysts said in a note.

Nike's stock (NKE) was getting a lift, up 0.6% in recent trading. The athletic-gear and apparel giant has been hit hard by tariffs because of where many of its products are made. The company said in its latest quarterly report that tariffs were having a negative annualized impact of $1.5 billion on its results.

Shares of Apple rose 0.5%, reversing an earlier decline of 0.9%. While CEO Tim Cook has worked with the Trump administration on ways for the company to reduce the impact of tariffs, Apple (AAPL) said results for its first quarter fiscal through December took a $1.4 billon tariff hit.

On a sector basis, consumer discretionary stocks turned higher after the ruling. The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR exchange-traded fund XLY was climbing 0.6% in recent trading, after being little changed just before the ruling. Many retailers have said higher prices, due in part to tariffs, have prompted consumers to cut back on discretionary spending.

Tomi Kilgore contributed.

-Robert Schroeder -Victor Reklaitis

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02-21-26 1224ET