President Trump struck a defiant and triumphalist tone Saturday as he announced a 15% global tariff on all imports, posting on Truth Social that foreign nations had been “ripping” the United States off for decades — adding pointedly that the exploitation had continued “until I came along.” The message was clear: Trump views his trade agenda not as overreach but as historic correction.
The new 15% tariff draws on Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, a never-before-used provision that allows the president to impose tariffs of this level for 150 days before congressional authorization is needed. Trump declared the rate effective immediately, just hours after the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that his IEEPA-based tariffs were unconstitutional without legislative backing.
The administration said it would use the 150-day window to develop a legally durable, court-resistant tariff framework for the longer term. Trump called the Supreme Court’s ruling “ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American,” and attacked the majority justices — including his own nominees Barrett and Gorsuch — with unusually personal and public criticism.
International trading partners pushed back. Germany’s Chancellor Merz warned that the United States was inflicting economic poison on itself and its allies through constant tariff uncertainty, and announced plans to visit Washington with a joint European position. France’s Macron praised the Supreme Court’s original ruling as evidence of a functioning democratic system and called for trade governed by fairness and reciprocity.
Research shows that approximately 90% of the $130 billion in tariffs collected under the now-invalidated IEEPA framework has been absorbed by American businesses and consumers, not foreign exporters. The new rate exempts critical minerals, metals, pharmaceuticals, and USMCA-compliant goods from Canada and Mexico. The UK faces an uncertain future after its previously negotiated 10% arrangement was effectively replaced.
