Trump Administration Moves to Rebuild Tariff Regime After Supreme Court Setback

The Trump administration signaled on Sunday that it is moving swiftly to resurrect much of its aggressive tariff agenda after a major Supreme Court ruling struck down a significant portion of President Donald Trump’s trade measures. Senior officials insisted that the new approach — centered on a temporary 15 percent global tariff and a wave of accelerated trade investigations — would preserve the president’s long-standing protectionist ambitions in a more legally durable form.

The announcement came just days after the Supreme Court invalidated a broad set of tariffs that the administration had imposed under emergency powers on imports from much of the world. The decision marked one of the most consequential legal defeats for Trump’s economic policy since returning to office, threatening to unravel billions of dollars in duties and trade agreements negotiated under them.

Yet rather than retreat, administration officials projected confidence that the ruling would only reshape — not halt — the president’s sweeping effort to reorder global trade in favor of American industry.

A New Tariff Framework

At the center of the administration’s revised strategy is a 15 percent across-the-board tariff on imports, which Trump announced on Saturday. Officials say the measure will be imposed under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, a rarely used provision that allows the president to levy temporary tariffs of up to 15 percent for 150 days without congressional approval.

“The president has been campaigning on tariffs and protecting American industry for many years,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Sunday on ABC’s This Week. “The policy hasn’t changed.”

Greer described the new tariff as part of a broader effort to “reconstruct” Trump’s original country-by-country duties, which had been imposed under emergency authorities before the Supreme Court struck them down. By shifting to a different legal basis, the administration believes it can maintain pressure on trading partners while avoiding the vulnerabilities that doomed the earlier tariffs.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reinforced that message in a separate interview on CNN, calling the 15 percent tariff a “bridge” to more permanent measures that the administration expects to roll out later this year. He added that projected tariff revenue for the current fiscal year remained unchanged despite the court ruling, signaling confidence that replacement duties would offset any losses.

Accelerated Trade Investigations

Beyond the temporary global tariff, the administration plans to launch a series of rapid-fire investigations under Section 301 of the same 1974 trade law — the same tool Trump used during his first term to impose sweeping tariffs on Chinese imports.

Greer said the new inquiries would target what the administration considers unfair trade practices across multiple sectors, including industrial overcapacity, forced labor, pharmaceutical pricing, discrimination against U.S. technology firms, and trade in seafood, rice, and other commodities. The investigations are expected to proceed on an accelerated timeline and could lead to tariffs affecting a large share of global trade.

Officials confirmed that ongoing Section 301 investigations into China and Brazil would also continue. Taken together, these actions are intended to replicate much of the original tariff architecture through legally sturdier channels.

On ABC, Greer suggested the Supreme Court ruling still left Trump with substantial trade authority, noting that the justices indicated the president could impose embargoes or other restrictions if necessary to achieve policy goals.

Global Uncertainty and Market Jitters

Despite the White House’s confident tone, the rapid pivot in U.S. trade policy has triggered confusion and concern among foreign governments and businesses. Many countries had negotiated trade arrangements with Washington under the now-invalidated tariffs, leaving the status of those deals uncertain.

European Union officials signaled that they may pause ratification of a trade agreement reached with the United States last year, citing legal ambiguity after the court decision. Analysts warn that prolonged uncertainty could disrupt supply chains and investment decisions worldwide.

Financial markets have also reacted nervously to the policy swings. Trump’s tariff campaigns — both in his first term and now — have repeatedly rattled equities, commodities, and currency markets, reflecting fears of escalating trade conflicts and slower global growth.

The China Factor

The stakes are especially high as Trump prepares for a potential trip to China in the coming weeks for talks with President Xi Jinping. The two countries reached a fragile trade truce last year after a damaging escalation that began when Trump accused Beijing of unfair trade practices and violating previous commitments.

The Supreme Court ruling removed one of Trump’s most powerful tools — emergency tariffs — just as negotiations with China were entering a sensitive phase. Nevertheless, Greer expressed optimism that the talks could proceed productively.

“The point isn’t trying to fight with China,” he said in a Fox News interview. “The goal is to make sure that China is complying with commitments it has made on trade.”