By WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS, Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — The nation’s highest court some of U.S. President most sweeping tariffs on Friday, in that he overstepped his authority when using an emergency powers law to justify new taxes on goods from nearly every country in the world.
Trump has launched a barrage of over the last year. Despite Friday’s ruling, many sectoral levies remain in place — and the president has that he’ll turn to for more import taxes, including plans to impose a globally. But the Supreme Court decision upends a core set of tariffs that Trump rolled out using the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA.
IEEPA authorizes the president to broadly regulate commerce after declaring a national emergency. Over the years, presidents have turned to this law dozens of times, often to place sanctions on other countries. But Trump was the first to use it to implement tariffs.
Here’s a look at the now-overturned tariffs Trump imposed using IEEPA — and other levies that still stand today.
‘Liberation Day’ tariffs
Trump used IEEPA to slap import taxes on last spring. On April 2, which Trump 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 got delayed by several months, and many rates were revised over time (in some cases after new “framework” agreements). Most went into effect Aug. 7.
The national emergency underlying these tariffs, Trump argued at the time, was the long-running gap between what the U.S. sells and what it buys from the rest of the world. Still, goods from countries with which the U.S. runs a trade surplus .
Major trading partners impacted by Liberation Day tariffs include South Korea, Japan and the European Union — which combined export a range of products to the U.S., like electronics, cars and car parts and pharmaceuticals. Following trade talks, Trump’s rates on most goods stood at 15% for the ,Ի ahead of Friday. But just last month, Trump to hike levies on certain South Korean products to 25% — and countries worldwide still face sector-specific, non-IEEPA tariffs.
‘Trafficking tariffs’ on Canada, China and Mexico
At the start of his second term, Trump used IEEPA to impose new tariffs on America’s three biggest trading partners: Mexico, Canada and China.
To justify these tariffs, Trump declared a national emergency ostensibly over like fentanyl and the chemicals made to use it. The levies were first , but went into effect over time — and were at times delayed, reduced or heightened .
Ahead of Friday’s decision, “trafficking tariffs” on Canadian and Mexican imports were 35% and 25%, respectively, for goods with the 2020 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. China, meanwhile, faced a . That’s down from 20% imposed by Trump earlier last year. Chinese goods also once saw levies after Liberation Day, but rates had during trade talks.
Top U.S. imports include mobile phones and other electronics, as well as clothing, toys and household appliances. Meanwhile, Canada and Mexico are of cars and auto parts. Canada is also the U.S.’s largest supplier of crude oil. And Mexico is a key exporter of , beverages and more.
Tariffs on Brazil over Bolsonaro trial
Trump also to slap steep import taxes on Brazilian imports over the summer, citing the country’s policies and criminal prosecution of .
Brazil already faced Trump’s 10% baseline Liberation Day rate. The Bolsonaro-related duties added another 40%, bringing total levies to 50% on ahead of Friday.
The U.S. 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 soybeans and sugar.
Tariffs on India linked to Russian oil
India has faced additional IEEPA tariffs, too. After Liberation Day, Trump slapped a 25% levy on Indian imports — and later for the country’s purchases of , while also citing the emergency powers law, bringing the total to 50%.
But earlier this month, the U.S. and India reached a . Trump said Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to stop , and that he planned to lower U.S. tariffs on its ally . Meanwhile, India said it would “eliminate or reduce tariffs” on all U.S. industrial goods and a range of agricultural products.
India’s top exports to the U.S. include pharmaceuticals, precious stones, clothing and textiles.
What are other non-IEEPA tariffs that countries still face today?
Despite the Supreme Court knocking down sweeping import taxes Trump imposed with IEEPA, most countries still face steep tariffs from the U.S. on specific sectors.
Citing national security threats, Trump has used another law — Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act — to slap levies on ,, copper and lumber worldwide. He began to roll out even more Section 232 tariffs in September, on , bathroom vanities and upholstered furniture.
Amid pressure to lower rising prices, Trump has rolled back some of his tariffs recently. Beyond trade frameworks, that’s included adding to specific levies and scrapping import taxes for .
Still, Trump has threatened more sectoral levies are on the way. And following Friday’s decision, he said that to enact a 10% global tariff — using another federal law, known as Section 122. Those tariffs would be limited to just 150 days, unless they are extended legislatively.
AP Writers Paul Wiseman, Seung Min Kim and Lindsay Whitehurst contributed to this report.
