The Trump tariffs most affected after Supreme Court ruling

The United States’ highest court has invalidated some of President Donald Trump’s most sweeping tariffs, ruling 6-3 that he exceeded his authority by invoking an emergency powers law to justify new taxes on goods from almost every nation globally.

This decision, delivered on Friday, overturns a core set of levies Mr Trump imposed under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

The IEEPA grants the president broad powers to regulate commerce following a declaration of national emergency.

While presidents have historically utilised this legislation dozens of times, often for imposing sanctions, Mr Trump was the first to deploy it specifically for implementing tariffs.

Despite this significant ruling, many sectoral tariffs introduced by Mr Trump over the past year remain in effect.

The president retains numerous other options to aggressively tax imports.

Here is a look at what tariffs Mr Trump imposed using IEEPA and others that still stand today.

Mr Trump used IEEPA to slap import taxes on nearly every country in the world last spring. On April 2, which he called Liberation Day, he imposed “reciprocal” tariffs of up to 50% on goods from dozens of countries – and a baseline 10% tariff on just about everyone else.

The 10% tax kicked in early April. But the bulk of Liberation Day’s higher levies were delayed by several months, and many rates were revised over time (in some cases after new “framework” agreements). Most came into effect on August 7.

The national emergency underlying these tariffs, Mr Trump argued at the time, was the long-running gap between what the US sells and what it buys from the rest of the world. Still, goods from countries with which the US runs a trade surplus also faced taxes.

Major trading partners affected by Liberation Day tariffs include South Korea, Japan and the European Union which, combined, export a range of products to the US, like electronics, cars and car parts and pharmaceuticals.

After trade talks, Mr Trump’s rates on most goods stood at 15% for the EU, Japan and South Korea before Friday.

But just last month, Mr Trump threatened to hike levies on certain South Korean products to 25% – and countries worldwide still face sector-specific, non-IEEPA tariffs.

At the start of his second term, Mr Trump used IEEPA to impose new tariffs on America’s three biggest trading partners: Mexico, Canada and China.

To justify these tariffs, he declared a national emergency ostensibly over undocumented immigration and the trafficking of drugs like fentanyl and the chemicals made to use it.

The levies were first announced at the start of February 2025, but came into effect over time and were at times delayed, reduced or heightened through further retaliation.

Before Friday’s decision, “trafficking tariffs” on Canadian and Mexican imports were 35% and 25%, respectively, for goods that do not comply with the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

China, meanwhile, faced a 10% fentanyl-related tariff, down from 20% imposed by Mr Trump earlier last year. Chinese goods also once saw sky-high levies after Liberation Day, but rates have since come down during trade talks.

Top US imports from China include mobile phones and other electronics, as well as clothing, toys and household appliances.

Meanwhile, Canada and Mexico are both major sources of cars and car parts. Canada is also the US’s largest supplier of crude oil. And Mexico is a key exporter of fresh produce, beverages and more.

Mr Trump also used IEEPA to slap steep import taxes on Brazilian imports over the summer, citing the country’s policies and criminal prosecution of former president Jair Bolsonaro.

Brazil already faced Mr Trump’s 10% baseline Liberation Day rate. The Bolsonaro-related duties added another 40%, bringing total levies to 50% on many products before Friday.

The US has actually run a consistent trade surplus with Brazil over the years. But top exports from the country include manufactured products, crude oil and agricultural products like soya beans and sugar.

India has faced additional IEEPA tariffs, too. After Liberation Day, Mr Trump slapped a 25% levy on Indian imports and later added another 25% for the country’s purchases of Russian oil, while also citing the emergency powers law, bringing the total to 50%.

But earlier this month, the US and India reached a trade framework deal.

Mr Trump said Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to stop buying Russian oil, and that he planned to lower US tariffs on its ally to 18%. Meanwhile, India said it would “eliminate or reduce tariffs” on all US industrial goods and a range of agricultural products.

Indian’s top exports to the US include pharmaceuticals, precious stones, clothing and textiles.

Despite the Supreme Court knocking down the sweeping import taxes Mr Trump imposed with IEEPA, most of America’s trading partners still face steep tariffs on specific sectors.

Citing national security threats, Mr Trump has used another law, Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act, to slap new levies on steel, aluminium, cars, copper and lumber worldwide.

He began to roll out even more Section 232 tariffs in September, on kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities and upholstered furniture.

Amid pressure to lower rising prices, Mr Trump has rolled back some of his tariffs recently.

Beyond trade frameworks, that has included adding exemptions to specific levies and scrapping import taxes for goods like coffee, tropical fruit and beef.

Still, Mr Trump has continued to threaten that more sectoral levies are on the way.

Source: independent.co.uk