President Donald Trump escalated trade threats after the US Supreme Court struck down his tariffs, signaling a pivot from tariff schedules to broader trade cutoffs, including embargoes.
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Friday that Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose tariffs on foreign countries was unconstitutional.
Speaking at the White House, Trump called the ruling “deeply disappointing” and said he was “absolutely ashamed” of the justices who voted against him.
Trump claimed foreign countries were “ecstatic, so happy, dancing in the street” after the ruling, but warned that “countries won’t be dancing for long.”
“There are methods that are even stronger available to me,” he claimed.
Trump explicitly referenced broader executive power, stating “I am allowed to cut off all trade with a country” and “I am allowed to impose an embargo.”
That escalation matters because embargoes are not a marginal tweak to tariff rates, they are an on-off switch for commerce, which would transmit immediate effects through import availability, pricing, and supply chains.
Economist and commentator Peter Schiff argued that the administration is threatening to use presidential authority to impose full embargoes that could prevent Americans from buying imported products from particular countries or even all countries.
“This would be even more harmful to Americans and the US economy than tariffs,” he wrote.
This will be the the last coffin nail for the U.S. economy and culture🪦🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/wiK3KgF0TV
— Mario (@PawlowskiMario) February 22, 2026
Refund exposure is now also the immediate operational question. A Penn Wharton Budget Model analysis cited the roughly $175.0 billion figure and estimated about $500.0 million of IEEPA-related revenue collected per day at peak are at risk with the decision, with refunds potentially tied to duties paid since February 2025 depending on how remedies are structured.
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