President Trump’s new 10% global tariffs kicked in on Tuesday, as the fallout continues from the Supreme Court’s ruling invalidating his most sweeping duties.
The president signed an executive order late Friday imposing the 10% tariffs under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. That went into effect early Tuesday. Trump has subsequently threatened to raise the levy to 15%, and Trump’s top trade adviser said the US will look to boost duties to that level on certain countries “where appropriate.”
European Union lawmakers postponed a vote to ratify the EU’s trade deal with the US, saying it needs “full clarity” on Trump’s next steps before proceeding. Later, an assessment from the bloc found that Trump’s newly instituted tariff likely violates the agreement, though the Trump administration has said the US would look to “accommodate” countries with trade deals.
The US trade representative also suggested duties on China would stay near current levels, after China warned against escalating duties.
Trump has spent the last several days furiously responding to the high court’s ruling. His first solution — the Section 122-imposed tariff — allows the president to impose tariffs of up to 15% for up to 150 days to address trade deficits. After 150 days, Congress would need to approve any extension.
The decision will have wide-ranging ramifications, affecting global trade, consumers, companies, inflation and the pocketbooks of every American. In recent weeks, Trump has already made plans to roll back some tariffs on metals, including on steel and aluminum goods, as he and his administration seek to battle an affordability crisis ahead of the midterm elections.
Read more: What Trump promised with his ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs — and what he delivered
LIVE 173 updates
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US trade representative: US aims to keep tariffs on China where they are
The White House will seek to keep levies on China at the levels set before the Supreme Court decision striking down large swaths of President Trump’s tariff regime, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Wednesday morning.
In comments to Fox Business, Greer said the US is aiming to maintain its tariffs of 35% to 50% on goods from China — now using alternative methods.
“We expect that level to remain in place. We don’t intend to escalate beyond that,” Greer said Wednesday morning. “We intend to really stick to the deal that we had before.”
On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that the president’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose wide-ranging tariffs on foreign nations was illegal.
The White House has instituted a temporary 10% global levy since the ruling, and Greer said Wednesday morning that the US will soon be announcing a bump-up to 15% on its temporary 150-day global tariff. The administration is expected to use that window to implement new measures under other legislative authorities, such as the Trade Act’s Sections 301 and 232.
President Trump will head to Beijing for a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the end of March, where the leaders of the world’s two largest economies are expected to discuss trade deals.
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Trump slams Supreme Court’s ‘unfortunate involvement’ in tariffs, says the duties aren’t going anywhere
President Trump on Tuesday night offered another strong defense of tariffs during the State of the Union and proclaimed that “the deals are all done” with no changes in the offing, even as he pilloried “an unfortunate ruling from the United States Supreme Court.”
The highly anticipated moment saw the president address the issue and condemn “the Supreme Court’s unfortunate involvement” as four justices in attendance sat motionless a few feet away.
The president also claimed that congressional action will not be necessary to keep his tariffs in force and even claimed that the duties would eventually “substantially replace the modern-day system of income tax, taking a great financial burden off the people that I love.”
Trump again overstated the effects of tariffs. Tariffs have actually been bringing in only a small fraction of income tax revenue so far — about $30 billion a month in recent months. It was another forceful defense of Trump’s central economic policy, even as his public support on tariffs has been ebbing.
Lawmakers’ reaction in the room was mixed, after bipartisan votes in both chambers have rebuked Trump’s tariffs and Democrats are already pledging to block an extension of the new Section 122 tariffs when they come up for congressional review in 150 days.
The skepticism is also evident among voters. Some polls show Americans opposed to Trump’s tariffs by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. Just this week, a new ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll found that 64% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of tariffs, while only 34% approve.
