US President Donald Trump: We're going to tariff even harder

Following the US Supreme Court's decision to declare US President Donald Trump's "national security" tariffs unlawful, President Trump gave a press conference to deliver his reaction to the Supreme Court's decision.

President Trump's press conference from the White House on Friday could most graciously be described as "comprehensive". President Trump vowed that his administration would be imposing even further tariffs using alternative legal frameworks, specifically citing national security conventions under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. Many of Trump's current tariff policies already exist under Section 301, but the largest bulk of trading fee collections have been under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which was widely imposed following the Trump administration's "Liberation Day" announcement in early 2025.

With the SC gutting Trump's ability to impose arbitrary tariffs under IEEPA, the Trump team is likely to pivot further into Section 301 tariffs, with Trump suggesting during his press conference that they may begin imposing an additional round of tariffs, effective almost immediately.

When asked by media following the President's address, Donald Trump strongly inferred that tariff fees collected under the IEEPA program, which has now been declared unlawful by the SC, will not be returned willingly by the White House. US companies and consumers who were forced to pay the import fees will have to bring lawsuits forward against the Trump administration to recoup their foreign trade costs directly.