Mint Explainer | Why has Trump's tariff weapon lost its edge?

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. After the US Supreme Court ruled against his emergency tariffs, President Donald Trump has vowed to rebuild the tariff wall by other means. However, his tariff weapon, blunted by the ruling, would never be the same again.

Mint looks at the options Trump now has. President Trump termed the Supreme Court ruling, which struck down the imposition of tariffs using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, as 'deeply disappointing’ and lashed out at the justices for not having the courage to do what is right for the country. He said he will not back down on tariffs, which had become central to foreign and economic policies in his second term.

Soon afterwards, US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant clarified that the administration would get back to the same level of tariffs for various countries by using other means that are less direct and more convoluted. There are a few laws that the administration can use to reimpose the tariffs. Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 permits the US President to impose tariffs up to 15% on a country to address a serious balance of payment deficit.

Section 301 of the same law allows for tariffs once the US Trade Representative finds that a country has engaged in an unfair trade practice. Section 201 and Section 338 permit tariffs to protect US industries from increased imports. Finally, Section 232 of the US Trade Expansion Act allows for sector specific tariffs on national security grounds.

As an immediate measure, he has imposed a 15% tariff using Section 122 of the trade act. Tariffs under this law can be levied for only up to 150 days and need congressional approval to be extended. For now, Trump has bought time as his administration looks for other