US President Donald Trump launched into a furious tirade on Friday night as the Supreme Court struck down his sweeping reciprocal tariffs — calling it a “ridiculous” decision and vowing to impose new duties. White House advisers have indicated plans to “invoke alternative legal authorities” to replace the tariffs imposed last year through the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

“The Court did not rule against President Trump’s tariffs. Six justices simply ruled that IEEPA authorities cannot be used to raise even $1 of revenue. This administration will invoke alternative legal authorities to replace the IEEPA tariffs. We will be leveraging Section 232 and Section 301 tariff authorities that have been validated through thousands of legal challenges,” insisted Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

He opined that tariff revenue would remain “virtually unchanged” in 2026 as the administration transitioned to alternative mechanisms. Bessent said “the use of Section 122 authority combined with potentially enhanced Section 232 and Section 301 tariffs” will ensure this outcome.

Trump announces fresh tariffs

Trump did not waste any time in announcing fresh tariffs against the world after the verdict. The POTUS signed a proclamation heralding a 10% duty for “all articles imported into the United States” soon after the stinging 6-3 defeat.

“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. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he wrote on Truth Social hours after the verdict.

The Supreme Court has sent the case back to the Court of International Trade to sort out next steps — a process expected to set off a scramble by companies to demand refunds. Penn-Wharton Budget Model economists told Reuters that more than $175 billion in US tariff collections are subject to potential refunds.

What are Sections 232 and 301?

These are US trade laws that empower the executive branch to impose tariffs — often used to bypass congressional action for protectionist policies. Section 232 comes from the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 while Section 301 is part of the Trade Act of 1974. The White House believes these will be more legally binding than the International Emergency Economic Powers Act for the global tariffs imposed by Trump. The two laws are used for different reasons and require different types of investigations before they can be triggered.

“The new tariffs — totally tested and accepted as law — are on their way! Those members of the Supreme Court who voted against our very acceptable and proper method of tariffs should be ashamed of themselves. Their decision was ridiculous but, now the adjustment process begins, and we will do everything possible to take in even more money than we were taking in before!” the POTUS vowed in a furious barrage of Truth Social posts.

“This was an important case to me, more as a symbol of economic and national security, than anything else. The good news is that there are methods, practices, statutes, and other authorities, as recognized by the entire court and Congress, that are even stronger than the IEEPA tariffs, available to me as president of the United States of America and, in actuality, I was very modest in my “ask” of other countries and businesses because I wanted to do nothing that could sway the decision that has been rendered by the court,” insisted another update.

According to the Supreme Court verdict, IEEPA can be used to stop trade rather than taxation and does not include words such as ‘tariff’, ‘duty’ or ‘tax’. But this issue can be bypassed by using Section 232 and Section 301 — both written by Congress specifically to manage trade duties. The Trump administration will have to conduct investigations to provide ‘evidence’ of a looming threat or issue and invoke the two sections.