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After court ruling, Trump says US global tariff rate will rise from 10% to 15%

February 21, 2026 4:10 PM UTC / Reuters

By Andrea Shalal and Joseph Ax

February 21, 2026 4:10 PM UTC Updated 1 hour ago

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• Summary

• Trump’s tariff increase follows Supreme Court ruling on previous program
• Section 122 tariffs require congressional approval after 150 days
• Trade experts doubt Congress will extend tariffs due to public opposition

WASHINGTON, Feb 21 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Saturday he will raise a temporary tariff from 10% to 15% on U.S. imports from all countries, the maximum level allowed under the law, after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down his previous tariff program.

The move came less than 24 hours after Trump announced a 10% across-the-board tariff on Friday after the court’s decision. The ruling found the president had exceeded his authority when he imposed an array of higher rates under an economic emergency law.

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The new levies are grounded in a separate but untested law, known as Section 122, that allows tariffs up to 15% but requires congressional approval to extend them after 150 days. No president has previously invoked Section 122, and its use could lead to further legal challenges.

Trade experts and congressional aides are skeptical the Republican-majority Congress would extend the tariffs, given polls that show growing numbers of Americans blame the duties for higher prices.

TRUMP EYES OTHER WAYS TO IMPOSE TARIFFS

In a social media post on Saturday, Trump said he would use the 150-day period to work on issuing other “legally permissible” tariffs. The administration intends to rely on two other statutes that permit import taxes on specific products or countries based on investigations into national security or unfair trade practices.

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“I, as President of the United States of America, will be, effective immediately, raising the 10% Worldwide Tariff on Countries, many of which have been ‘ripping’ the U.S. off for decades, without retribution (until I came along!), to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level,” he wrote in a Truth Social post.

The Section 122 tariffs include exemptions for certain products, including critical minerals, metals and energy products, according to the White House.

Wendy Cutler, a former senior U.S. trade official and senior vice president at the Asia Society think tank, said she was surprised Trump had not opted for the maximum Section 122 rate on Friday, adding that his rapid-fire change underscored the uncertainty trading partners faced.

The Supreme Court’s decision, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, concluded the law Trump had used for most of his tariffs, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, did not grant the president the powers he claimed.

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Roberts was joined in the majority by fellow conservatives Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, both Trump appointees, and the court’s three liberal justices.

Trump reacted with fury to the ruling, calling the justices in the majority “fools” and describing Gorsuch and Barrett in particular as “embarrassments,” while vowing to continue his global trade war.

Some foreign leaders applauded the decision. French President Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday the ruling showed it is good for democracies to have counterweights to power and the rule of law.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he expected the decision would ease the burden on German companies. He said he would use his upcoming U.S. trip to reiterate that “tariffs harm everyone.”

TRADE DEALS MUST BE HONORED: GREER

Trump has used the tariffs, or the threat of imposing them, to extract trade deals from foreign countries.

After the court’s decision, Trump’s trade representative, Jamieson Greer, told Fox News on Friday that those countries must honor agreements even if they call for higher rates than the Section 122 tariffs.

Exports to the U.S. from countries such as Malaysia and Cambodia would continue to be taxed at their negotiated rates of 19%, even though the universal rate is lower, Greer said.

Indonesia’s chief negotiator for U.S. tariffs, Airlangga Hartarto, said the trade deal between the countries that set U.S. tariffs at 19%, which was signed on Friday, remains in force despite the court decision.

The ruling could spell good news for countries like Brazil, which has not negotiated a deal with Washington to lower its 40% tariff rate but could now see its tariff rate drop to 15%, at least temporarily.

With November’s midterm elections looming, Trump’s approval rating on his handling of the economy has steadily declined during his year in office, with 34% of respondents saying they approve and 57% saying they disapprove in a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Monday.

Affordability remains a top concern for voters. Democrats, who need to flip only three Republican-held seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in November to win a majority, have blamed Trump’s tariffs for exacerbating the rising cost of living.

Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Writing by Joseph Ax; Editing by Rod Nickel

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At least 5 killed, including American, in a string of avalanches in western Austria

February 21, 2026 / 12:55 PM EST / AP

At least five people were killed in a string of avalanches in western Austria, authorities said Saturday.

The government office of the Tyrol region said intense snowfall over the last week led to accumulations of up to 5 feet. Combined with windy conditions and weak snowpack below, the conditions were especially susceptible to avalanches, it said.

Tyrol police said five off-piste skiers were caught up in a nearly 490-yard-wide avalanche Friday afternoon in the St. Anton am Arlberg area at an altitude of about 6,500 feet.

An American and a Pole were among the five recovered dead after the avalanche, and a 21-year-old Austrian died of injuries after being rushed to the hospital, police said.

Dozens of mountain-rescue team members, ambulance and fire department staffers, as well as several dog squads, were deployed for the operation.

Late Friday morning in the Nauders-Bergkastell resort to the southeast, a 42-year-old German man and his 16-year-old son were caught in an avalanche. The teen survived with injuries and called for help, but his father was killed.

In Klösterle in the neighboring Vorarlberg region, a 39-year-old Swiss snowboarder was caught and killed by an avalanche in an off-piste area, regional police said.

“The recent snowfall is currently drawing many people to the mountains – even off-piste,” Tyrol governor Anton Mattle said in a statement. “It is painful that we have already had to record several avalanches with injuries and fatalities.”

His office said nearly three dozen avalanche incidents were reported on Friday, among more than 200 over the last week. So far, 11 people have lost their lives in avalanches this month, the governor’s office said. Three separate avalanches last month killed eight skiers.

“No relief is in sight for Sunday either,” the region office said. “The weather remains turbulent.”

Jordan Stolz’s bid for another Olympic gold medal ends as Dutch speedskaters win mass start

February 21, 2026 / 1:57 PM EST / AP

[Jordan Stolz]’s bid to become the first man in 32 years with three Olympic golds in long track speedskating was fading Saturday. Way ahead in the mass start, the sport’s final event at the [Milan Cortina Games], was 40-year-old Jorrit Bergsma, who joined another skater in pulling away from the pack with several laps to go.

Stolz kept figuring someone else would try to reel in the leaders. No one did. Stolz was shocked. He wound up in fourth place behind the mullet-wearing Bergsma, the oldest speedskater to claim a gold at any Olympics.

“They all expected me to chase, but I wasn’t going to do that,” said Stolz, a 21-year-old from Wisconsin. “If I had chased with five laps to go, I would have just blown myself up. I thought the other guys would be a bit more hungry to do it, but I guess they didn’t want to.”

He won his first two events in Milan, the [500 meters]and [1,000 meters]. Then came a silver in the 1,500. After that result on Thursday, Stolz said: “I didn’t have it today. Not sure why.”

He didn’t have enough in the mass start, either.

Viktor Hald Thorup of Denmark, who moved out front with Bergsma initially, got the silver. Andrea Giovannini, who mimicked Steph Curry’s “Night night” gesture when he helped Italy beat the favored U.S. in the men’s team pursuit, was the bronze medalist, barely nudging past Stolz in a closing sprint.

“I’m really happy for Jorrit. And I’m really happy for Viktor. Other than that, I don’t have anything that’s printable. The stupidest race I’ve ever seen in my life,” said Stolz’s coach, Bob Corby. “The whole peloton decided, like, ‘Well, let’s race for the bronze medal.’ So dumb.”

Jordan Stolz of the U.S., center, Antoine Gelinas-Beaulieu of Canada, left, and Andrea Giovannini of Italy, far left, compete in the men’s mass start final speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026. Ben Curtis / AP

Ahead of these Olympics, there had been a lot of talk about whether Stolz might end up with a quartet of golds, and he was asked questions about that at news conferences immediately following his two wins. The last male speedskater to get three golds in speedskating at a single Winter Games was Johann Olav Koss at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics.

“Well, it’s just wonderful to have two golds and a silver,” Corby said. “Almost accomplished everything that we wanted to do. If he would have won the 1,500, I wouldn’t have cared anything about the mass start.”

Stolz offered a similar assessment of his second trip to the Olympics; he had results of 13th and 14th at the [2022 Beijing Games]when he was 17.

“I thought it was pretty successful: Two golds and a silver, that’s pretty good,” he said. “There’s some things that could have been better, but overall I’m pretty happy with it.”

Bergsma added this gold to his bronze in the 10,000 meters earlier in Milan. He now has a total of five Olympic medals, including a gold in the 10,000 way back in 2014.

The gold in the women’s mass start also went to a Dutch skater: reigning world champion Marijke Groenewoud, who hadn’t finished better than seventh in her other three races. Ivanie Blondin of Canada was the silver medalist for the second Games in a row, followed by Mia Manganello of the U.S. with the bronze.

Blondin helped Canada win a second consecutive team pursuit gold earlier at these Olympics. The 36-year-old Manganello, this season’s World Cup champion in the mass start, took a victory lap with a U.S. flag after the final race of her career.

Bergsma and Thorup left the rest of the men’s field behind in the 16-lap race.

Eventually, Bergsma went out in front alone, with enough of a lead that he could coast home during the final backstretch, pausing to spread his arms wide, pump his fists overhead and blow kisses to the sizable group of Dutch spectators at the Milano Speed Skating Stadium.

Later, waiting to walk out to the podium for the medal ceremony, Bergsma turned to Giovannini and said about the race: “I couldn’t believe it. I was like, ‘Is this really happening?’”

Stolz, meanwhile, couldn’t really understand what had transpired, either.

“I guess you just have to expect the unexpected from what people are going to do. Like in the mass start, you would think that they would want to chase more to try and to catch Jorrit, being that I already have two gold medals and the guys who are the gold medal favorites in the mass start didn’t want to chase,” Stolz said. “So, yeah, I wouldn’t have expected that.”

Trump torches ‘stupid’ AOC’s Munich showing, tees up fresh fight with progressive Democrats

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez faced criticism for stumbling through answer about potential US military defense of Taiwan

By Emma Colton
Fox News
Published February 21, 2026 12:06pm EST

President Donald Trump slammed Rep. Ocasio-Cortez as “stupid” over her showing at the Munich Security Conference.

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President Donald Trump turned up the heat on progressive Democrats during his public remarks Thursday, including slamming New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for her “horrible” efforts at diplomacy during the Munich Security Conference.

“Her performance was horrible,” Trump told the media aboard Air Force One on the way to an event in Rome, Georgia, Thursday. “I was surprised, actually. I didn’t know she was stupid.”

Ocasio-Cortez joined the Munich Security Conference last weekend, and faced criticisms for a handful of “sputtering” and “embarrassing” responses, including when she was asked, “Would and should the U.S. actually commit U.S. troops to defend Taiwan if China were to move?”

The progressive New York Democrat delivered an answer that included a handful of pauses, punctuated by repeatedly saying “uhm.”

BUTTIGIEG, NEWSOM, AOC TOP THREE IN NEW 2028 POLL IN KEY PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY STATE

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez speaks at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. Nuclear deterrence is set to be a hot topic at the conference.(Alex Kraus/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

She ultimately answered: “This is, of course, a very long-standing policy of the United States, and I think what we are hoping for is that we want to make sure that we never get to that point, and we want to make sure that we are moving in all of our economic research and our global positions to avoid any such confrontation and for that question to even arise.”

Vice President JD Vance called the response “embarrassing,” while social media corticis compared it to “Kamala cringe” or that she “SELF-DESTRUCTED” with her answer.

Ocasio-Cortez is seen as a potential 2028 presidential contender, with Trump’s sharp critique of the left-wing Democrat lawmaker setting a tone for potential future campaign attacks.

Ocasio-Cortez made a point to downplay 2028 speculation during the security conference.

She said she joined the forum that attracts hundreds of world leaders, business titans and celebrities “not because I’m running for president, not because I’ve made some kind of decision about a horse race or a candidacy, but because we need to sound the alarm bells that a lot of those folks in nicely pressed suits in that room will not be there much longer if we do not do something about the runaway inequality that is fueling far-right populist movements.”

President Donald Trump attends the inaugural Board of Peace meeting at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, D.C., Feb. 19, 2026.(Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Earlier Thursday, when Trump held the first Board of Peace meeting, he described Ocasio-Cortez as a weak representation for the U.S. on the world stage.

TRUMP HITS CAMPAIGN TRAIL IN KEY BATTLEGROUND AS RACE TO REPLACE MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE HEATS UP

“She was unable to answer a simple question. And she could have said, ‘Well, I’m studying it, and I’ll report back to you next week.’ You know, you can get away with that. But she just went ‘uhhh.’ I think it could be a career ending answer because for 25 years, anybody running against her, I think Susie is going to use that, that little piece of stuff. It was not good. It was not good. That was not a natural,” Trump said.

The White House told Fox News Digital on Friday that “Trump is always transparent with his thoughts, and he’s right – AOC should be working on behalf of the American people instead of embarrassing our country on the world stage.”

“It’s ridiculous that third-rate congresswoman AOC decided to frolic around Munich, where no one knows or cares who she is, while New Yorkers are suffering as a result of Democrats’ shutdown, which is cutting off resources to FEMA, TSA, the Coast Guard, and thousands of federal law enforcement officers,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said.

Trump, later that day during a steel event in Georgia, took a shot at Democrats who have promoted a message of “affordability.” Left-wing Democrats such as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani carried out a successful campaign in 2025 on a message of lowering costs for New Yorkers, including by increasing taxes on some high-earners in the state.

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a working breakfast with governors in the State Dining Room at the White House on February 20, 2026 in Washington, DC.(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

MOCKED IN MUNICH? WHY AOC WAS A MUCH BIGGER SUCCESS THAN HER CRITICS REALIZE

Trump has slammed the party for using the term, arguing sky-high inflation under the Biden era was caused by Democrat policies.

Trump took aim at Democrats again on Thursday for their message of affordability, claiming he hasn’t heard the media specifically promote affordability in weeks because he “won affordability.”

“I added $9 trillion, and your retirement accounts and 401 Ks are at the highest level they’ve ever been. And then I have to listen to the fake news talking about affordability. Affordability. Do you notice what word have you not heard over the last two weeks? Affordability. Because I’ve won, I’ve won affordability,” he said on Thursday from Georgia.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Ocasio-Cortez’s office for additional comment Friday afternoon.

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NASA’s Artemis II rocket hit by new problem expected to bump moonshot into early April

2026-02-21T12:50:15-0500 / CBS News

Engineers ran into problems repressurizing the Artemis II moon rocket’s upper stage helium tanks overnight Friday, a problem that will require rolling the huge rocket off the launch pad and back to its processing hangar for troubleshooting. The work will push the already delayed mission from March into early April, NASA officials said Saturday.

Pressurized helium is used to push propellants to rocket engines for ignition and to purge various fuel lines to clear them out before propellants flow. It’s not yet known what might be preventing helium from flowing back into the SLS rocket’s upper stage following a successful countdown rehearsal test that ended Thursday.

“Regardless of the potential fault, accessing and remediating any of these issues can only be performed in the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building),” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman said in a post on the social media platform X. “We will begin preparations for rollback, and this will take the March launch window out of consideration.”

The Artemis II mission aims to send four astronauts — Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen — on a flight around the far side of the moon and back to thoroughly test the agency’s Orion deep space capsule to help clear the way for a lunar landing mission, Artemis III, in 2028.

NASA’s Artemis II Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft are seen in the distance at Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Gregg Newton /AFP via Getty Images

Because of the ever-changing positions of the Earth and moon, and associated changes in lighting and other factors, only a handful of launch opportunities are available each month that meet the Artemis II mission requirements. The current launch period ends on March 11. The available launch dates next month are April 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

Wiseman, Glover, Koch and Hansen originally hoped to launch early this month, but hydrogen leaks detected during an initial “wet dress countdown” rehearsal ultimately pushed the flight to March.

NASA completed a second fueling test and countdown on Thursday, loading the Space Launch System rocket with more than 750,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and hydrogen fuel while working through the steps that will be needed to actually launch the huge rocket on the long-awaited mission.

The test went well; there were no fuel leaks like the ones that derailed plans for a launch earlier this month. Managers said Friday the team would press ahead for a launch attempt on March 6 to send Wiseman and his crewmates to the moon.

Hoping for the best, the astronauts went into pre-flight medical quarantine at the Johnson Space Center on Friday evening and planned to fly to the Kennedy Space Center on March 1 to prepare for launch. They will now leave quarantine to await developments.

“I understand people are disappointed by this development,” Isaacman said. “That disappointment is felt most by the team at NASA, who have been working tirelessly to prepare for this great endeavor.”

During NASA’s Apollo program, 24 astronauts flew to the moon from 1968 through 1972. The new Artemis program has completed only one flight so far, a lunar-orbiting mission without a crew in 2022.

“I will say again, the President created Artemis as a program that will far surpass what America achieved during Apollo. We will return in the years ahead, we will build a Moon base, and undertake what should be continuous missions to and from the lunar environment,” Issacman said. “Where we begin with this architecture and flight rate is not where it will end.”

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/what-led-nasa-delaying-artemis-ii-launch/

President Donald Trump slams high court’s ‘extraordinarily anti-American decision’ on tariffs

By Greg Norman-DiamondFox News

Published February 21, 2026 12:10pm EST | Updated February 21, 2026 12:48pm EST

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Expert warns of ‘confusion’ over Supreme Court’s ruling on Trump’s tariffs

FOX Business senior correspondent Charles Gasparino and former Deputy Independent Counsel Sol Wisenberg discuss the Supreme Court striking down President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs on ‘Fox & Friends Weekend.’

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President Donald Trump announced Saturday he is raising a global tariff to 15% following a ruling this week by the Supreme Court.

“Based on a thorough, detailed, and complete review of the ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American decision on Tariffs issued yesterday, after MANY months of contemplation, by the United States Supreme Court, please let this statement serve to represent that I, as President of the United States of America, will be, effective immediately, raising the 10% Worldwide Tariff on Countries, many of which have been ‘ripping’ the U.S. off for decades, without retribution (until I came along!), to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“During the next short number of months, the Trump Administration will determine and issue the new and legally permissible Tariffs, which will continue our extraordinarily successful process of Making America Great Again – GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!!!” Trump added.

In a 6-3 decision on Friday, the Supreme Court rejected the president’s authority to issue sweeping tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. In response, Trump announced a 10% global tariff, citing a different law.

SUPREME COURT BLOCKS TRUMP TARIFFS IN MAJOR TEST OF EXECUTIVE BRANCH POWERS

President Donald Trump points to a reporter during a press briefing at the White House, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in Washington. Beside the President is Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik.(Evan Vucci/AP)

“It is my Great Honor to have just signed, from the Oval Office, a Global 10% Tariff on all Countries, which will be effective almost immediately,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Friday evening.

The order was issued under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 and applies in addition to the standard tariffs that are already in place, the president announced during a White House press briefing Friday afternoon.

DEMOCRATS CHEER SUPREME COURT MOVE BLOCKING TRUMP TARIFFS – DESPITE PAST SUPPORT FOR TRADE DUTIES

The U.S. Supreme Court as seen on Feb. 20, 2026, in Washington, D.C.(Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

The high court blocked Trump’s tariffs levied under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act in what amounts to a major test of executive branch authority.

The president noted he will pursue “alternatives” to tariffs under emergency law.

President Donald Trump speaks during a “Make America Wealthy Again” trade announcement event in the Rose Garden at the White House on April 2, 2025, in Washington, D.C.(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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Trump called the ruling “deeply disappointing,” saying he was “ashamed” of certain members of the court.

Fox News’ Alexandra Koch, Alex Nitzberg, Jacqui Heinrich and Charles Creitz contributed to this report.

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

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Supreme Court gives Trump — and the rest of the GOP — a gift in disguise

Analysis by Aaron Blake
1 hr 59 min ago
PUBLISHED Feb 21, 2026, 1:00 PM ET

President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing held at the White House, on Friday.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

The Supreme Court on Friday dealt President Donald Trump perhaps the most significant rebuke of his second term. The justices, including two of the president’s appointees, struck down Trump’s signature economic policy: his global tariffs.

In the long run, the court might have saved him from himself — at least politically.

Some Republicans are outright praising the decision, and you can bet more are happy behind the scenes.

That’s because, while the decision is clearly a major setback for Trump’s agenda, it also strips him of tools that seemed to cause short-term economic damage to the country, and that were clearly doing short-term political damage to Trump’s party.

This is not the end of the tariffs story. Trump quickly signaled he’d launch 10% global tariffs under a different authority (which he said Saturday he was upping to 15%). He even claimed on Friday that the Supreme Court’s decision had actually made his ability to levy trade penalties “stronger,” somehow.

But that’s not actually true. Trump’s tariff powers have been significantly curtailed. And while Republicans have been happy to let him try to do things on his own, even when those things were powers delegated to Congress by the Constitution, this setback could also lead to some soul-searching in the GOP about whether to continue entertaining Trump’s trade gambits.

Whether any of them seize on this apparent opportunity to deescalate is the big question.

[Related article U.S. President Donald Trump greets Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, Jr as he arrives to deliver an address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 04, 2025 in Washington, DC. Win McNamee/Getty Images John Roberts ends Trump’s big Supreme Court winning streak 6 min read]

How the tariffs have hurt Trump
It was fortuitous that the Supreme Court’s decision came Friday. Just 90 minutes before it landed, the Bureau of Economic Analysis announced the gross domestic product had grown at just a 1.4% annualized rate in the fourth quarter. That made 2025 the second-worst year for GDP growth since 2016.

Last year was also one of the weakest jobs years in decades. And there is, of course, the inflation that finally dropped a bit in January but remains stubborn.

In other words, the stock market aside, the economy isn’t doing great.

It’s not clear how much the stagnancy is due to tariffs, specifically. But the uncertainty surrounding them and the extra costs they’ve created have clearly put a damper on an economic picture that wasn’t great to begin with.

At the very least, they gave Americans a reason to blame Trump for economic hardships. Trump voluntarily took ownership of a struggling economy, using a method that economists widely predicted would cause more problems, at least in the near term.

It’s not difficult to see why that cost Trump and the GOP. And cost them it did.

Shipping cranes stand above shipping containers at the Port of Los Angeles, with snow-covered mountains beyond, on Friday.
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Since Trump announced the global tariffs back on April 2, his net economic approval rating in Nate Silver’s averages has gone from plus-6 to minus-12.

And a CNN poll last month showed Americans disapproved of Trump on tariffs, 62%-37%. Even 25% of Republican-leaning voters disapproved.

How the Supreme Court hamstrung him
In an often-confusing press conference Friday afternoon, Trump pointed to how Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh’s dissent suggested Trump could simply move on to different tariff authorities.

And there are some available. Trump quickly seized on one of them, announcing the 10% global tariffs under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974.

“Now I’ll go the way I could have gone originally, which is even stronger than our original choice,” Trump claimed.

But that’s not true.

While there are multiple options available, there’s a reason Trump chose the initial path he did. If the court permitted him to wield tariffs under emergency authority, it would have given him much greater flexibility to quickly implement huge tariffs and make changes — often to punish or cajole other countries.

About the only limit was that Congress could vote to invalidate the emergencies. But vocal opposition to the tariffs didn’t come close to hitting a veto-proof majority.

By contrast, Section 122 limits tariffs to 15% and to a period of 150 days — after which Congress needs to extend them. Given majorities of both chambers have voted against Trump’s tariffs recently, that seems unlikely.

And it’s not even clear Trump can use this section, given it requires some kind of international payments problem.

Other tariff authorities require more of a process before the tariffs can be implemented.

Indeed, Chief Justice John Roberts in a footnote directly took issue with Kavanaugh’s claim.

“The cited statutes contain various combinations of procedural prerequisites, required agency determinations, and limits on the duration, amount, and scope of the tariffs they authorize,” Roberts said.

The US Supreme Court as seen on Friday.
Heather Diehl/Getty Images

Trump has pitched tariffs as revitalizing American manufacturing and giving him great leverage to craft trade deals with other countries. But the shorter shelf life and lower ceiling under Section 122 and more extensive processes involved in the alternatives means he has to confront limitations he wouldn’t have otherwise. And other countries will know he faces those restrictions, lessening his leverage.

It’ll be interesting to see if Trump decides it’s even worth it to try to truly go big on tariffs again, given those constraints.

All eyes on the GOP
It will also be interesting to see if this might embolden the many tariff-skeptical but quiet congressional Republicans who want to turn the page on this chapter.

Many Republicans have spent the last year holding their noses (and tongues) as Trump imposed tariffs. Those tariffs, after all, ran afoul of the GOP’s longstanding attempts to brand itself as the party of free markets and free trade.

But the ruling is a major setback for Trump’s go-it-alone approach that could imperil his other efforts. In his concurrence, Justice Neil Gorsuch seemed to plead with Congress to start handling these matters with legislation.

[Related article The US Supreme Court is reflected in a puddle on Friday. Heather Diehl/Getty Images Takeaways: Supreme Court stands up to Donald Trump on emergency tariffs 11 min read]

And we’re now in a midterm election year, when the potential cost of these tariffs looms large. Even before the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down the first round of tariffs, we started to see some signs of waning patience with this portion of Trump’s agenda. Some of these Republicans might reason they gave Trump a chance to make it work, and now it’s time to move on.

Indeed, on Friday we saw relatively few Republicans criticize the court like Trump did.

That doesn’t mean they’re going to suddenly break with Trump en masse on this subject. And Trump is a proud man who surely doesn’t want to be seen as capitulating to the Supreme Court or pressure from his party.

But if he does keep trying to go big on tariffs, he could be looking a (political) gift horse in the mouth.

法国贸易部长：欧盟有能力反击特朗普关税政策

2026年2月21日 22:53 / 联合早报

1月5日，法国主管对外贸易的部长尼古拉斯·弗里西耶在巴黎爱丽舍宫参加每周内阁会议后离开。 （法新社）

法国贸易部长尼古拉斯·弗里西耶告诉《金融时报》，布鲁塞尔有能力反击美国最新一轮的关税政策。

弗里西耶（Nicolas Forissier）星期六（2月21日）说，在最高法院裁定特朗普此前对贸易伙伴征收的许多关税违法后，他决定对全球商品征收10%的统一关税。巴黎方面正与欧盟成员就此进行磋商。

路透社报道。弗里西耶告诉《金融时报》：“如有必要，欧盟拥有相应的工具。”

《金融时报》引述法国官员的话称，欧盟的应对措施可能包括“贸易火箭筒”（trade bazooka）等选项，这是一种反胁迫工具（anti-coercion instrument），可能会影响美国科技公司。

报道称，反胁迫工具拥有广泛的权力，包括出口管制、服务关税，以及将美国公司排除在欧盟采购合同之外。

报道还指出，欧盟还有一项针对价值超过900亿欧元（1344.23亿新元）美国商品的报复性关税方案，目前该方案尚未实施，但仍有可能被启用。

特朗普考虑“有限度打击”伊朗 伊外长称数日内完成核协议草案

2026年2月21日 23:07 / 联合早报

（华盛顿／迪拜综合电）美国总统特朗普公开说，他正在考虑对伊朗实施有限度军事打击，以迫使伊朗签署新的核协议。

特朗普周五（2月20日）在白宫被问及是否考虑以“有限度军事打击”迫使伊朗达成协议时答道：“我想我可以说，我正在考虑这么做。”不过，他没就此作具体说明。

特朗普前一天发出最后通牒，限定伊朗在10至15天内与美国达成核协议，否则将面临“严重后果”。

美国目前在中东集结了自2003年伊拉克战争以来最大规模军事力量，包括两艘航空母舰、战斗机和空中加油机，为特朗普提供了对伊朗发动有限度或大范围攻势的选项。

路透社引述两名美国官员报道，美军对伊朗的军事规划已进入最后阶段，选项包括在攻击行动中针对特定人物，或甚至试图推翻德黑兰政权。

专家认为，美国若为了迫使伊朗达成协议，而在谈判期间发动军事打击，可能引起反效果，不仅破坏谈判进程，也可能引发致命的报复循环。中东一个不愿具名的高级官员说，美国一旦动武，德黑兰料将离开谈判桌。

美国智库史汀生中心研究员斯莱文说，即使美国最终没有付诸行动，仅是军事威胁也会使伊朗更不愿意达成协议。

美国和以色列去年6月大举轰炸伊朗核设施和防空系统，特朗普当时说伊朗关键核浓缩设施完全被毁。

斯莱文指出，美以可能将伊朗弹道导弹列为攻击目标，但风险是这可能刺激德黑兰在弹道导弹被毁之前，先发射导弹攻击美军或其盟友。

一名美国前官员说，伊朗仍具备反击能力，可能以中短程弹道导弹攻击中东地区的美军基地，或动员区域代理人组织袭击美军。

曾在美国前总统克林顿执政时期担任中东特使的罗斯说，伊朗和美国都不想陷入长期战争，德黑兰目前正尝试以象征性的让步拖延时间。

伊朗外长：两三天内完成核协议草案

伊朗外长阿拉格齐周五接受美国媒体访问时说，伊朗将在两三天内完成核协议草案的起草工作，并在获得伊朗领导人的最终批准后交给美国。双方可能在约一周后再次举行会议，完善草案。

他强调，通过外交谈判达成解决方案是伊朗核问题的唯一解决办法，诉诸武力只会使事情更复杂。

伊朗官方通讯社引述外交消息报道，美国在2月17日的日内瓦谈判中已表现出让步迹象，倾向于接受伊朗继续在境内进行铀浓缩。

阿拉格齐也说，在日内瓦举行的会谈中，美国谈判代表威特科夫和库什纳并未向伊朗提出零铀浓缩的要求。“我们现在讨论的是如何确保伊朗核计划，包括铀浓缩是和平的，并且永远保持和平。”

不过，美国否认改变立场。白宫说：“（特朗普）总统已表明，伊朗不能拥有核武器或制造核武器的能力，也不可进行铀浓缩。”

在美伊可能爆发军事冲突之际，美国国会最快可能在来临的星期，就一项战争权力决议案进行表决。这项决议案要求总统在下令对伊朗实施军事打击之前，必须先寻求国会批准。

欧洲央行管理委员：关税对美国损害大于其他国家

2026年2月21日 23:15 / 联合早报

2025年5月30日，担任意大利央行行长的法比奥·帕内塔在罗马发布意大利央行年度报告。 （路透社）

欧洲央行管理委员会成员法比奥·帕内塔指出，美国经济承受了美国总统特朗普征收关税的大部分负担。

帕内塔（Fabio Panetta）星期六（2月21日）在威尼斯说：“外国出口商似乎承担了其中的一部分，估计约为10%……最初，这些影响为美国企业的利润所吸收，接着部分转嫁给了消费者，现在消费者承担了大约一半。”

彭博社报道，帕内塔在金融协会Assiom-Forex年度活动上发表讲话时强调：“总体而言，关税估计对通货膨胀率的作用略高于0.5个百分点，而通胀率仍然高于美国联邦储备局的目标。”

特朗普星期五（20日）遭遇挫折，最高法院驳回了他去年征收的大部分关税，称他援引联邦紧急权力法的行为超越了其权限。特朗普的回应是向全球贸易伙伴加征10%的关税，还说要展开一系列调查，以便日后可能征收更多进口税。

帕内塔还指出，关税导致贸易流向发生了显著的地域性重组。这包括美国从中国的进口减少，美国从墨西哥、越南和台湾等第三国的进口增加，以及中国在其他市场的影响力增强。

帕内塔指出：“如今，世界高度相互依存——任何国家都无法通过孤立自身长期繁荣发展。”