President Donald Trump forcefully denounced the Supreme Court on Friday after it struck down his emergency tariffs, declaring from the White House that he would pursue “even stronger” measures to keep his trade agenda intact.
During a press conference, Trump criticized both the justices and Democrats while making clear he has no intention of backing down.
“Today I will sign an order to impose a 10% global tariff under Section 122, over and above our normal tariffs already being charged,” Trump announced.
The president framed the tariff fight as a matter of economic national security, arguing that his policies are central to protecting American industry and strengthening the nation’s economic position.
“This was an important case to me,” Trump said. “More is a symbol of economic national security. And also, I would say, just for our country itself, so important because we’re doing so well as a country. We’ve never done so well.”
The Supreme Court’s decision struck down Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose sweeping tariffs. But Trump emphasized that the ruling acknowledged the existence of other statutory authorities available to him.
“The good news is that there are methods, practices, statutes and authorities, as recognized by the entire court in this terrible decision, and also as recognized by Congress, which they refer to, that are even stronger than the IEEPA tariffs available to me as President of the United States,” he said.
Trump later elaborated on what he sees as inconsistencies in the Court’s reasoning. He argued that while the ruling prevents him from imposing even minimal tariff charges under IEEPA, it does not restrict other, more sweeping actions.
“To show you how ridiculous the opinion is, however, the court said that I’m not allowed to charge even one dollar. I can’t charge one dollar!” Trump said.
He continued, “Can’t charge a dollar. I would have used one penny, but we don’t make the pennies anymore. We save money. Can’t charge $1 to any country under IEEPA. Not $1.”
Trump asserted that while he is barred from imposing even a small fee under that statute, he retains the authority to cut off trade entirely.
“But I am allowed to cut off any and all trade or business with that same country. In other words, I can destroy the trade. I can destroy the country!” he said.
He added that he could impose an embargo if he chose to do so.
“I’m even allowed to impose a foreign country-destroying embargo. I can embargo. I can do anything I want, but I can’t charge $1,” Trump said. “So I’m allowed to destroy the country, but it can’t be a little fee.”
Trump maintained that the ruling was incorrect but insisted it would not derail his broader trade strategy.
“Their decision is incorrect, but it doesn’t matter because we have very powerful alternatives that have been approved by this decision,” he said. “They’re saying that I have the absolute right to license, but not the right to charge a license fee.”
Despite the legal setback, the president signaled he intends to move forward aggressively, underscoring that multiple tools remain at his disposal to pursue his tariff agenda and defend what he calls America’s economic interests.
