A dramatic weekend in Washington has upended the United States’ trade policy, and ended with President Trump announcing a new blanket tariff on imports from around the globe.

The decision followed a significant setback in the Supreme Court. By a 6–3 majority, the justices upheld a lower court ruling that the administration had acted unlawfully in invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to introduce the so-called “Liberty Day” tariffs.

The Court concluded that the legislation did not provide the President with authority to impose such sweeping duties. However, other tariffs enacted under separate statutory powers — including those affecting steel, aluminium and motor vehicles — remain in force.

The President responded with visible frustration, denouncing the majority judgment as ill-conceived and unpatriotic. He also directed pointed criticism at several members of the Court, among them justices he had previously appointed.

Within hours of the ruling, the White House sought an alternative route. Relying on Section 122 of the Trade Act 1974, the President initially imposed a 10 percent surcharge on all imports, before swiftly advisong he had raised ti to the statutory maximum of 15 percent. Currently, confusion remains over which percentage will actually apply. 

Either way, the measure is due to come into effect on 24 February 2026 and may remain in place for up to 150 days. Any extension beyond that period would require approval from Congress — far from guaranteed, given recent opposition in the House of Representatives to other proposed tariff measures.

Questions also persist over the fate of revenues already collected under the now-invalid tariffs. Analysts estimate that refunds could amount to between $130 billion and $175 billion. With no automatic reimbursement mechanism available and more than 1,000 importers pursuing legal action, protracted litigation seems likely at this stage.

The team at MultiFreight will be monitoring developments with great interest.