Two stories caught my attention this week.
Let me walk you through them.
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Donald Trump stopped in his tracks
If you trade or invest, you'll probably remember the tariffs Donald Trump imposed on a large number of countries last year.
(I know some crypto traders who still haven't recovered...)
The president justified them using a 1977 law called IEEPA.
Except that law doesn't mention tariffs.
Companies and US states losing money because of those measures decided to challenge them in court.
After several rounds in the courts, the US Supreme Court ruled on Friday 20 February 2026:
Donald Trump simply had no right to use that law to impose tariffs.
In practical terms, the decision means two things:
- Those harmed by the tariffs will need to be reimbursed.
- Existing tariffs will need to be removed or reduced.
On the first point, the courts still need to work out how reimbursement will happen.
On the second, Donald Trump reacted very quickly.
Donald Trump gets moving again
A few hours after the ruling, Donald Trump announced new tariffs, this time using a different law: Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974.
It lets him impose tariffs of up to 15%, still better than the previous 25%, but for no more than 150 days.
After that, Congress has to approve an extension.
Markets reacted positively to the announcement.
On Friday, the S&P 500 finished up 1.35% and the Nasdaq up 1.55%.
The real question now is what happens when markets open on Monday, once the new tariffs are officially in place.
Sources: Reuters, Google Finance