Fresh uncertainty as Trump raises global import tariffs to 15%
President Donald Trump has announced an immediate increase in global import tariffs to 15%, escalating a trade measure introduced just one day earlier and directly responding to a Supreme Court ruling that invalidated key elements of his tariff agenda.The announcement was made Saturday in a post on the President’s Truth Social account, following a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States striking down what Trump has referred to as his “reciprocal” tariffs.
“I, as President of the United States of America, will be, effective immediately, raising the 10% Worldwide Tariff on Countries… to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level,” Trump wrote.He added that many countries had been “‘ripping’ the U.S. off for decades, without retribution” and said the increase followed “a thorough, detailed, and complete review” of what he described as the Court’s “ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American decision on Tariffs”.
On Friday, the White House confirmed that a 10% ad valorem import duty would be imposed under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, with the measure scheduled to take effect on February 24 at 12:01 a.m. ET for a period of 150 days. In a fact sheet issued the same day, the administration said the temporary duty was intended to address “fundamental international payment problems” and reduce the US balance-of-payments deficit.
However, Trump’s Saturday statement appeared to override the previously announced rate and timeline.“During the next short number of months, the Trump Administration will determine and issue the new and legally permissible Tariffs,” he wrote, adding that the process would continue what he called the administration’s “extraordinarily successful process of Making America Great Again – GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!!!”
Tariffs and their implications for global trade and logistics are expected to feature prominently in discussions at WMX Americas today, with delegates and speakers set to address the rapidly evolving US trade environment.
