It felt like one of those quiet seconds before a door slams — and then it did.
The U.S. Supreme Court (6–3) just knocked down Trump’s earlier sweeping tariffs that were tied to IEEPA emergency powers, basically saying: that kind of tariff power belongs to Congress, not a unilateral “emergency” switch. 
So Trump pivoted fast: he signed a new “global” 10% import surcharge using Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 — a tool built for “balance-of-payments” stress. It’s 10% on most imports for 150 days, starting Feb 24, 2026 (12:01 a.m. ET), scheduled to run through July 24, 2026 unless changed earlier or extended by Congress. 
And this isn’t a blanket hit with no exceptions — the proclamation carves out major lanes: critical minerals, energy products, pharmaceuticals/ingredients, certain electronics, many vehicles/parts, aerospace, plus goods already under Section 232, and USMCA duty-free goods from Canada & Mexico. There’s even a tight “in-transit” grace window if goods were already loaded and entering by Feb 28. 
The real tension: this 10% is the baseline, but Trump also signaled more firepower via new Section 301/232 investigations — meaning targeted, higher tariffs could follow once those processes spin up. 
This is trade policy as a timer: 150 days, 10%, and the world’s supply chains just got a new price tag.
#GlobalTariff #TradeWarWatch #SupplyChainShock #MarketVolatility