Trump says Supreme Court ruling makes president's ability on tariffs 'more powerful'

Record ID: 2343230

  • Title: Trump says Supreme Court ruling makes president's ability on tariffs 'more powerful'
  • Date: 20th February 2026
  • Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 20, 2026) (REUTERS) U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP APPROACHING LECTERN (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. PRESIDENT, DONALD TRUMP, SAYING: “Our stock market is just recently broken 50,000 on the Dow and simultaneously and even more amazingly broken 70, 7,000 on the S&P. Two numbers that everybody thought upon our landslide election victory
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: IEEPA International Emergency Economic Powers Act Supreme Court Trump global tariffs trade war
  • Location: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
  • City: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
  • Country: US
  • Topics: Budget/Taxation/Revenue,North America,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA001724620022026RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: FOR MORE SOUNDBITES FROM TRUMP ON SUPREME COURT DECISION ON TARIFFS PLEASE SEE: 7247-USA-TRUMP/TARIFFS-PRESIDENT
    U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday (February 20) told a briefing he would sign an order to impose a 10% global tariff under Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act and would initiate several other investigations as well.
    Trump said the U.S. Supreme Court decision on his tariff authority made presidential power to regulate trade "more powerful" and "more crystal clear rather than less."
    Speaking after the ruling, Trump criticized the court's reasoning, saying it barred him from charging "even $1" in tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, while still allowing broader actions such as cutting off trade.
    Trump said he would pursue tariffs under other statutes, citing "The Trade Act of 1974" and the "Tariff Act of 1930," though he acknowledged it was a longer process.
    He also praised Justice Brett Kavanaugh, saying he was "very proud of that appointment," and pointed to Kavanaugh's dissent as support that the decision "might not substantially constrain the president's ability to order tariffs going forward."
    Trump also attacked the plaintiffs who brought the lawsuit, saying he knew them and calling them "sleaze bags, major sleaze bags."
    Trump has leveraged tariffs - taxes on imported goods - as a key economic and foreign policy tool.
    The U.S. Constitution grants Congress, not the president, the authority to issue taxes and tariffs.
    Tariffs have been central to a global trade war that Trump initiated after he began his second term as president, one that has alienated trading partners, affected financial markets and caused global economic uncertainty.
    Trump has called his tariffs vital for U.S. economic security, predicting that the country would be defenseless and ruined without them.
    (Production: Ivan Romero)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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