SCOTUS Halts Trump’s Tariffs — What’s Next?

The Supreme Court’s decision may pave the way toward lower prices.

Anna Helhoski
Rick VanderKnyff
Updated
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Updated Feb. 22
President Donald Trump doubled down on his commitment to tariffs on Saturday, writing in a social media post that he would raise global levies to 15%, taking place “immediately,” up from figures announced the day before.
On Friday, shortly after the Supreme Court rejected the legal rationale for most of his second-term tariffs, Trump announced the 10% figure, enacted under a different legal instrument.

Supreme Court rules against Trump's tariffs

Much of President Donald Trump’s economic agenda in his second term has focused on levying tariffs on imports from virtually every country on Earth. Some tariffs have been eliminated or modified along the way, others have been threatened but never implemented.
Now, the legal foundation for most of President Donald Trump’s second-term tariffs have been deemed unconstitutional.
On Friday, Feb. 20, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that Trump’s use of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) as justification for imposing large-scale tariffs will not stand.
The ruling means the U.S. may owe businesses many billions of dollars in refunds. It also means that consumers could eventually see lower prices than they have since the reciprocal tariffs began.
But the ruling doesn’t mean the end of tariffs altogether — Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum, for example, will stand. And the president can certainly impose more tariffs, but he’ll have to find a different channel to do so.
At a press conference following the Court’s decision, Trump slammed the ruling as “a disgrace” and vowed to seek other alternatives.
Trump said that all existing national security tariffs under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 will remain fully in place. He also announced a 10% worldwide tariff under Section 122 starting Feb. 23.
New tariffs under existing statutes will take longer, but he said he doesn’t plan to work with Congress and can act alone.
Elizabeth Renter, NerdWallet’s senior economist, says the ruling presents new uncertainty for consumers who have already felt the impact of tariffs for months. “While the Administration will likely seek alternative routes to achieve their ends, there will be no plug-and-play solution that allows things to continue on the path they’ve been on,” says Renter. “For consumers, the ruling means less risk of higher and higher prices, but no end in sight to the economic uncertainty.”
News developments:

Trump lowers tariffs on Indian imports to 18%

On Feb. 2, President Trump announced on Truth Social that the U.S. and India reached a trade deal. He said the reciprocal tariff on India would be lowered 25% to 18%; the U.S. will also reportedly drop the additional 25% tariff imposed in August to penalize India for buying Russian oil. As part of the deal, Trump said India would buy American products “at a much higher level,” along with over $500 billion of U.S. energy, technology, agricultural, coal and other products.

Trump targets Canadian aircrafts with 50% tariff, decertification

On Jan. 29, President Trump called for a 50% tariff on Canadian-made aircraft and said the U.S. would be decertifying Canadian planes. The announcement came after Canada refused to certify jets made by Gulfstream Aerospace, a company based in Savannah, Georgia.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said that if the issue is not “immediately corrected,” the U.S. would impose tariffs on all Canadian planes sold in America. He also said, “Based on the fact that Canada has wrongfully, illegally, and steadfastly refused to certify the Gulfstream 500, 600, 700, and 800 Jets, one of the greatest, most technologically advanced airplanes ever made, we are hereby decertifying their Bombardier Global Expresses, and all Aircraft made in Canada, until such time as Gulfstream, a Great American Company, is fully certified, as it should have been many years ago.”
On Jan. 24, Trump threatened Canada with 100% tariffs over that nation’s recent trade deal to increase electric vehicle exports from China.

Trump promises ‘framework’ deal with NATO, pulls back tariffs

The saga of President Trump’s quest to purchase Greenland continues.
On Jan. 21, Trump reversed his recent threats to slap tariffs on several European countries over their opposition to U.S. ambitions to take control of Greenland.
Trump said the U.S. agreed on a “framework of a future deal” with NATO regarding Greenland and the broader Arctic region. He offered no further details.
Trump made the announcement at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He pulled back on his previous threats to impose 10% tariffs starting on Feb. 1, which would have risen to 25% by June 1. The countries that would have been affected include Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
As a result of Trump’s threats, the yet-to-be-finalized European Union trade deal with the U.S. was put on hold. It’s unclear what the future of the deal is with tariffs off the table.
The Kingdom of Denmark owns Greenland. Trump has said many times that he wants Greenland, which is positioned in the Arctic, for strategic and security reasons to counter Russia and China. He has also pointed to Greenland’s natural resources as a benefit.

Increased tariffs on furniture, cabinets postponed

In September 2025, Trump announced increased tariffs on upholstered furniture (30%) as well as kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities (50%). Tariffs on these items were already 25%. The higher tariffs were initially announced as going into effect in October, but have remained at 25% since the announcement.
On Dec. 31, the White House announced that the higher tariffs would be delayed until Jan. 1, 2027. For now, they remain at 25%.
President Donald Trump announced a broad array of global tariffs on April 2, 2025, a day he dubbed “Iiberation day.” These included an initial 10% baseline tariff on virtually all countries (later increased to 15%), as well as higher “reciprocal” tariffs on a subset of those countries.
The levies were due to go into effect within a week of the initial announcement, but after global markets sank in the immediate aftermath, Trump postponed implementation to July 9, later extending that to Aug. 1.

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In the months since the initial announcement, some trade deals have been struck, lowering or eliminating some tariffs, and additional tariffs have been put in place, some on individual countries and some on product categories.
The full spreadsheet of the U.S. “harmonized tariff schedule” runs to more than 35,000 rows — which includes tariffs in place before Trump took office for his second term. Here is a partial list of current tariffs. In many cases, exemptions apply for certain products; not all of them are noted here.

U.S. tariffs by country

The base reciprocal tariff on nearly all nations is 15%.
Countries with significantly higher tariff rates include:
  • Algeria: 30%.
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina: 30%.
  • Brazil: 50% (with exemptions for some agricultural products).
  • Canada: 35% for most items not covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA); 10% for energy and potash. 
  • China: Aggregate tariffs exceed 45% for most products. 
  • India: 50%, including a 25% reciprocal tariff and a 25% punitive tariff for purchasing Russian oil.
  • Iraq: 35%.
  • Laos: 40%.
  • Libya: 30%.
  • Mexico: 25% for most items not covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA); 10% for potash. 
  • Myanmar: 40%.
  • Serbia: 35%.
  • South Africa: 30%.
  • Syria: 41%.

U.S. tariffs by product

  • Aluminum and derivative products: 50% (25% on UK-origin products, 200% on Russia-origin products).
  • Automobiles: 25% (with modified rates for European Union member states, Japan and South Korea).
  • Automobile parts: 25% (10% for the U.K., and modified rates for European Union member states, Japan and South Korea).
  • Copper: 50%.
  • Kitchen cabinets and vanities: 
  • Softwood timber and lumber: 10%.
  • Steel and derivative products: 25% for the U.K.; 50% for all other countries. 
  • Trucks and truck parts: 25% (10% for buses).
  • Upholstered wooden furniture: 25% (10% for the U.K., and modified rates for European Union member states, Japan and South Korea).

Other tariff-related moves

Also in 2025, the White House implemented a 40% tariff on the practice of transshipping — when countries attempt to evade U.S. tariffs by routing their goods through other countries before sending them to the U.S.
» Stay informed: Check out NerdWallet's news hub for all the latest.
In addition, the administration ended a nearly century-old policy that exempts small packages from tariffs. Congress enacted the de minimis exemption in 1938 to ease foreign trade inefficiencies. It was later expanded in the 1990s to ease cost burdens for businesses and consumers. In May, Trump ended the exemption for Chinese businesses, and the loophole was closed worldwide in August.
(Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images for Getty News Images)
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