By: Emily Nixon
On Feb. 21, the United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump raised a 10% global tariff to 15% in response to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a 6-3 vote that the tariffs enacted under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) are unconstitutional.
“Based on a thorough, detailed, and complete review of the ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American decision on Tariffs issued yesterday,” said Trump in a Truth Social post. “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 U.S. off for decades, without retribution (until I came along!), to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level.”
Trump has sworn that more tariffs are to come in the future.
“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!!!” stated the post.
The ruling specifically targeted tariffs imposed under IEEPA, which was a law enacted in 1977 that states that powers given to the president “may be exercised to deal with any unusual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in whole or substantial part outside the United States, to the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States, if the President declares a national emergency with respect to such threat.”
Such powers granted to the U.S. President under IEEPA are stated as the ability to “investigate, regulate, or prohibit any transactions in foreign exchange, transfers of credit or payments between, by, through, or to any banking institution, to the extent that such transfers or payments involve any interest of any foreign country or a national thereof, the importing or exporting of currency or securities, by any person, or with respect to any property, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States,” among others.
The law later specified that the granted powers may only be used in such circumstances.
“The authorities granted to the President by section 1702 of this title may only be exercised to deal with an unusual and extraordinary threat with respect to which a national emergency has been declared for purposes of this chapter and may not be exercised for any other purpose,” states the law.
“Any exercise of such authorities to deal with any new threat shall be based on a new declaration of national emergency which must be with respect to such threat.”
U.S. Customs and Border Patrol stopped collecting the “duties imposed pursuant to IEEPA” on Feb. 24, according to an internal bulletin from the department.
After the ruling, Trump took to Truth Social to fiercely denounce the results and had already found a workaround.
“To show you how ridiculous the opinion is, the Court said that I’m not allowed to charge even $1 DOLLAR to any Country under IEEPA, I assume to protect other Countries, not the United States, which they should be interested in protecting,” states the post. “But I am allowed to cut off any and all Trade or Business with that same Country, even imposing a Foreign Country destroying embargo, and do anything else I want to do to them — How nonsensical is that?”
The ruling does not clarify whether and how the federal government should refund importers for the rescinded tariffs, leaving business owners in limbo, according to an NPR article.
“Indeed, the government already has a routine process to refund tariffs in cases of, say, errors on a customs form. But on Monday, Wells dialed into a call arranged by the small-business group Main Street Alliance and heard lawyers suggest that this time, getting her money back would likely require suing the government,” stated the article.
Senate Democrats have already begun pushing a bill to force the federal government to expedite the refund process and prioritize small businesses.
“Trump’s illegal tariff taxes cost small businesses, consumers, and families up to $175 billion. That money must be repaid immediately. For small businesses with little to no resources, this refund process can be extremely difficult and time-consuming,” said Small Business Committee Ranking Member Senator Edward J. Markey in the article.
Joining the calls for refunds, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker sent an invoice to the White House for over 8 billion dollars, according to a post on X from Pritzker.
“Your tariffs wreaked havoc on farmers, enraged our allies, and sent grocery prices through the roof. This morning, your hand-picked Supreme Court Justices notified you that they are also unconstitutional,” states the letter from Pritzker.
“I demand a refund of $1,700 for every family in Illinois. There are 5,105,448 households in my state, bringing the total damages you owe to $8,679,261,600.”
In response to President Trump’s State of the Union Address, Pritzker reminded his followers about the pending refund.
“All that talk and not one word about the $134 billion tariff refund he owes to the American people,” stated Pritzker’s post. “Pay up, Donald.”