Where does the U.S. Supreme Court voiding some Trump tariffs leave Canada?

The U.S. Sublime margaret court struck land a list of tariffs that chair Donald Trump has imposed since he returned to the White House.

While Friday's decision removes some tariffs on Canada, others still remain in place.

Trump has also promised to slap a 10 per cent global tariff to replace the ones that the court invalidated.

Here's what we know about the court's decision, Trump's latest threat and how all of it will impact Canada.

The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the tariffs Trump implemented using a 1977 law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

That law gives the U.S. Commander-in-chief broad powers in the case of a "national emergency" and an "unusual and extraordinary threat."

The Trump administration used a part of that act, the ability to "regulate" imports, to impose a swath of tariffs on Canada, Mexico and countries around the globe.

In Canada's case, Trump argued that a "flood of fentanyl and other illicit drugs across our northern border" constituted a national emergency requiring a response.

The president said he would use IEEPA to hit all Canadian goods with a 25 per cent levy, though that was later walked back and only applied on goods that didn't comply with provisions of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). That levy was put in place in March and then boosted to 35 per cent in the summer.

Trump also used IEEPA to impose his "liberation day" global tariffs that excluded Canada and Mexico. The president argued that trade deficits constituted a national emergency to justify these levies .

As of Friday, all of those tariffs have been voided.

While IEEPA gives power to the president to regulate trade in an emergency, the plaintiffs in the case argued that the act doesn't explicitly mention the word tariffs and therefore Trump overstepped.

In a six to three ruling, the majority of judges sided with the plaintiffs, saying the act "does not authorize the president to impose tariffs."

A number of other sectoral specific tariffs are still in effect.

Trump used Section 232 of the U.S. Trade Expansion Act to impose levies on Canadian steel, aluminum, copper, some automotive parts, lumber and other wood products.

Section 232 of that act allows top U.S. Officials to direct the secretary of commerce to look into suspected national security threats caused by imports. Within 270 days — roughly nine months — the secretary must present the president with a report and any recommendations for action.

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The use of section 232 tariffs were not addressed in Friday's court decision, only the IEEPA tariffs.

Trump also relied on section 232 to impose tariffs on metals in his first term, which were only lifted on Canadian products after CUSMA was brokered.

In response to Friday's court ruling, Trump has promised a new 10 per cent "global tariff" using a different U.S. Law.

Section 122 of the U.S. Trade Act (not to be confused with the Trade Expansion Act) allows temporary tariffs of up to 15 per cent — but these tariffs can only be imposed for 150 days unless Congress approves an extension.

"Once something is signed we will be releasing paper that will cover this," the official said.

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Trump himself said the new tariffs will come into effect "three days from now," meaning Monday.

"We were nervous about trade relations with the U.S. Before today and we're still nervous about trade relationships with the U.S. Because the president is emphasizing that he has other tools to impose tariffs and it's not clear that Canada is going to escape those tariffs," he said.

If Canada does get hit with the new tariffs, it may only be temporary because the extension requires Congressional approval — the U.S. House of Representatives voted against the IEEPA tariffs on Canada just last week.

"We simply don't know, as of today, where these policies are gonna sit even a week from now, let alone six months from now," Shenfeld said.

Senior writer

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