Trump Slams Top Court's Ruling On Tariffs A 'Disgrace', Says He Has A Backup Plan In Place

Last Updated:February 20, 2026, 22:42 IST

In a six-three ruling, the US Supreme Court held that Trump had exceeded his authority by imposing sweeping tariffs under emergency powers.

US President Donald Trump on Friday called the Supreme Court’s decision striking down his tariffs a “disgrace" and said he has a “backup plan" to move forward after the ruling dealt a major blow to his trade policy.

The comment was made to CNN during a White House briefing, after Trump addressed governors at a breakfast meeting. Reacting to the verdict, he told that he was prepared with a “backup plan" despite the top court’s decision.

In a six-three ruling, the US Supreme Court held that Trump had exceeded his authority by imposing sweeping tariffs under emergency powers. The judgment marked a significant setback for the Republican president and has wide implications for the global economy.

The justices upheld a lower court’s decision that Trump’s use of the 1977 Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) went beyond the powers granted to him by Congress. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said the law did not give the president the authority to impose tariffs.

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“Our task today is to decide only whether the power to ‘regulate … importation,’ as granted to the president in IEEPA, embraces the power to impose tariffs. It does not," Roberts wrote in the ruling, quoting the language of the statute that Trump had relied upon.

Just last month, White House economist Kevin Hassett had said the administration was preparing to rely on alternative legal authorities to quickly reimpose tariffs if the court struck them down. “We’ve got a very, very detailed backup plan. We’re confident that if we were to lose this case, that we can get all of the president’s policies in place almost immediately with alternative authorities," Hassett had told Fox News.

Trump has long used tariffs as a lever for pressure and negotiations. However, he made unprecedented use of emergency economic powers upon returning to the presidency last year to impose new duties on virtually all US trading partners.

(With inputs from agencies)

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