Supreme Courts Strikes Down Trump Tariffs – Now what?

On Friday February 20^th, the Supreme court ruled against the Trump Administration’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which has formed the legal foundation of the vast majority of the tariffs announced during the past year. The ruling invalidates the tariffs issued under the IEEPA, resulting in widespread confusion and the potential refund of more than $160 billion in tariffs that have already been collected.

While the ruling strikes down the IEEPA tariffs, it does not strike down the industry specific tariffs imposed under different statutes, including Section 232.  The Section 232 tariffs include tariffs on steel, aluminum, autos, trucks, and will remain in effect.  In addition, the Trump administration is currently researching additional products that could have tariffs imposed under Section 122, Section 232 and under other statutes. Within hours the Trump administration announced a 10% global tariff under Section 122.

The stock market seemed to take the news without a significant reaction, possibly due the potential for Trump’s to reestablish the tariffs. Certainly, the administration has anticipated the potential ruling and appears to be working an alternative legal framework.

Despite initial turmoil when tariffs were announced in 2025, the stock market appears to expect significant uncertainty when it comes to US tariff policy. So far the reaction has been muted. We expect more of the same going forward – not that tariffs no longer matter, but that the market has already adjusted to the expectation that tariffs will be a cost of doing business in the US going forward.