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Neal Katyal challenges Trump’s 15% global tariff
Katyal has sharply criticised the president’s authority to enact sweeping levies through executive action.
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Rwittika Chakraborty
- Sun, 22, Feb 2026
- 08:04 EST
- 16
Neal Katyal / Wikimedia Commons
Indian-American constitutional lawyer Neal Katyal, known for successfully overturning parts of U.S. President Donald Trump’s previous tariff regime at the U.S. Supreme Court, publicly challenged the legality of a newly imposed 15 per cent global import tariff.
Katyal, a former acting U.S. Solicitor General and Supreme Court litigator, has sharply criticised the president’s authority to enact sweeping levies through executive action.
ALSO READ: Delivered crucial relief: Neal Katyal on Supreme Court win over Trump tariffs
In a post on X, Katyal argued that the legal basis for the new tariff, enacted under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, to be fundamentally flawed. He pointed to earlier government submissions to the court, acknowledging that this section was not designed to deal with ordinary trade deficits, a distinction central to the current dispute.
Katyal underscored that the U.S. Constitution grants the power to levy taxes, including tariffs, primarily to the legislature, not the executive, and wrote,
“If his tariffs are such a good idea, he should have no problem persuading Congress. That’s what our Constitution requires.”
The tariff hike to 15 per cent was announced soon after the Supreme Court struck down much of Trump’s earlier emergency-based tariff framework, holding that the president overstepped his authority.
In response to that ruling, Trump declared the adjustment to the tariff rate as fully allowed and legally tested, indicating his intent to continue robust use of trade levies.
Katyal’s challenge highlights ongoing tensions in U.S. trade policy between executive ambition and constitutional constraints. His intervention, coming on the heels of a landmark Supreme Court defeat for the administration, suggests the legal battles over America’s tariff strategy are far from over.
Administration officials have said the tariffs are intended to protect U.S. jobs and address trade imbalances, but critics, including legal experts and economists, claim the measures risk economic disruption and may not withstand judicial scrutiny.
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