U.S. President Donald Trump moved swiftly on Friday, February 20, 2026, to replace tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court with a temporary 10% global import duty for 150 days while opening investigations under other laws that could allow him to re-impose the tariffs.
Trump told a briefing he was ordering new tariffs under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, duties that would go on top of surviving tariffs.
These would partly replace tariffs of 10% to 50% under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act that the top court declared illegal.
Trump said later on Truth Social that he had signed an order for the tariffs on all countries, "which will be effective almost immediately."
A spokesperson for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency declined comment when asked when collections of the illegal IEEPA tariffs would halt at ports of entry.
Trump's Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said the new 10% duties and potentially enhanced tariffs under the Section 301 unfair practices statute and the Section 232 national security statute would result in virtually unchanged tariff revenue in 2026.
"We will get back to the same tariff level for the countries. It will just be in a less direct and slightly more convoluted manner," Bessent told Fox News, adding that the Supreme Court decision had reduced Trump's negotiating leverage with trading partners.
The never-used Section 122 authority allows the president to impose duties of up to 15% for up to 150 days on any and all countries to address "large and serious" balance of payments issues.
It does not require investigations or impose other procedural limits. After 150 days, Congress would need to approve their extension.
"We have alternatives, great alternatives," Trump said. "Could be more money. We'll take in more money and we'll be a lot stronger for it," Trump said of the alternative tools.
While the administration will likely face legal challenges, the Section 122 tariffs would lapse before any final ruling could be made, said Josh Lipsky, international economics chair at the Atlantic Council, a think tank in Washington.
Trump said his administration also was initiating several new country-specific investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 "to protect our country from unfair trading practices of other countries and companies."