Donald Trump on Friday railed against the supreme court justices who blocked his use of tariffs, calling them a “disgrace to the nation”, and later signing documents imposing a 10% tariff on all countries.
Trump said he would immediately sign an order increasing tariffs globally by 10% under section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 and will begin investigations of unfair trade practices allowing further tariffs. He asserted that he had the authority to impose additional tariffs under existing statutes without congressional approval.
By Friday evening, Trump posted on Truth Social: “It is my Great Honor to have just signed, from the Oval Office, a Global 10% Tariff on all Countries, which will be effective almost immediately.”
The temporary import duty will take effect on 24 February at 12.01 ET.
Minutes later, the White House released a fact sheet explaining that Trump had signed a proclamation “invoking his authority under section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974” to impose “a temporary import duty”.
The Congressional Research Service, which provides legislative research and analysis to lawmakers, explained that: “Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 directs the President to take measures that may include a temporary import surcharge (tariff) when necessary to address “large and serious United States balance-of-payments deficits’ or certain other situations that present ‘fundamental international payments problems.’ Section 122 has never been used, and therefore courts have had no occasion to interpret its language. Some news reports have noted this provision appears to authorize the President to impose across-the-board tariffs on imports in some circumstances.”
The law does, however, place limits on such tariffs, which may be imposed by the president for “a period not exceeding 150 days”, and are “not to exceed 15 percent”.
Canada and Mexico will be exempted from the new temporary duty in alignment with the North American trade pact, the White House said. Also exempt are certain food products, such as beef and tomatoes, and critical minerals.
“I wanted to be a good boy,” Trump said, describing his relative restraint in issuing tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Trump said that tariffs under section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 will remain “in place and in full force and effect”.
During remarks at the White House, Trump said: “It’s my opinion that the court has been swayed by foreign interests and a political movement that is far smaller than people would ever think.” He cast that influence as social and cultural, saying: “I’m ashamed of certain members of the court. Absolutely ashamed for not having the courage to do what’s right for our country.”
He praised the three justices who dissented in the opinion: Brett Kavanaugh, who wrote the main dissent, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. The others – including two of his appointees, Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch – drew his derision.
“They’re just being fools and lapdogs for the Rinos [“Republicans in name only”] and the radical-left Democrats, and not that they should have anything at all to do with it,” Trump said. “They’re very unpatriotic and disloyal to our constitution.”
Referring to Barrett and Gorsuch, he described them as “an embarrassment to their families” and said they were “barely” invited to the State of the Union address next week.
Asked for evidence of foreign influence over the supreme court, Trump replied: “You’re going to find out.”
This story was amended on 20 February 2026 to correct that Donald Trump called the justices who voted against his tariffs, not the ruling itself, a “disgrace to our nation”.
Robert Mackey contributed reporting
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: theguardian.com
