By Andrea Shalal and Joseph Ax
WASHINGTON, Feb 21 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Saturday he will raise a temporary tariff from 10% to 15% on U.S. imports from all countries, the maximum level allowed under the law, after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down his previous tariff program.
The move came less than 24 hours after Trump announced a 10% across-the-board tariff on Friday after the court’s decision. The ruling found the president had exceeded his authority when he imposed an array of higher rates under an economic emergency law.
The new levies are grounded in a separate but untested law, known as Section 122, that allows tariffs up to 15% but requires congressional approval to extend them after 150 days. No president has previously invoked Section 122, and its use could lead to further legal challenges.
Trade experts and congressional aides are skeptical the Republican-majority Congress would extend the tariffs, given polls that show growing numbers of Americans blame the duties for higher prices.
TRUMP EYES OTHER WAYS TO IMPOSE TARIFFS
In a social media post on Saturday, Trump said he would use the 150-day period to work on issuing other “legally permissible” tariffs. The administration intends to rely on two other statutes that permit import taxes on specific products or countries based on investigations into national security or unfair trade practices.
“I, as President of the United States of America, will be, effective immediately, raising the 10% Worldwide Tariff on Countries, many of which have been ‘ripping’ the U.S. off for decades, without retribution (until I came along!), to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level,” he wrote in a Truth Social post.
The Section 122 tariffs include exemptions for certain products, including critical minerals, metals and energy products, according to the White House.
Wendy Cutler, a former senior U.S. trade official and senior vice president at the Asia Society think tank, said she was surprised Trump had not opted for the maximum Section 122 rate on Friday, adding that his rapid-fire change underscored the uncertainty trading partners faced.
The Supreme Court’s decision, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, concluded the law Trump had used for most of his tariffs, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, did not grant the president the powers he claimed.
Roberts was joined in the majority by fellow conservatives Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, both Trump appointees, and the court’s three liberal justices.
Trump reacted with fury to the ruling, calling the justices in the majority “fools” and describing Gorsuch and Barrett in particular as “embarrassments,” while vowing to continue his global trade war.
Some foreign leaders applauded the decision. French President Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday the ruling showed it is good for democracies to have counterweights to power and the rule of law.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he expected the decision would ease the burden on German companies. He said he would use his upcoming U.S. trip to reiterate that “tariffs harm everyone.”
TRADE DEALS MUST BE HONORED: GREER
Trump has used the tariffs, or the threat of imposing them, to extract trade deals from foreign countries.
After the court’s decision, Trump’s trade representative, Jamieson Greer, told Fox News on Friday that those countries must honor agreements even if they call for higher rates than the Section 122 tariffs.
Exports to the U.S. from countries such as Malaysia and Cambodia would continue to be taxed at their negotiated rates of 19%, even though the universal rate is lower, Greer said.
Indonesia’s chief negotiator for U.S. tariffs, Airlangga Hartarto, said the trade deal between the countries that set U.S. tariffs at 19%, which was signed on Friday, remains in force despite the court decision.
The ruling could spell good news for countries like Brazil, which has not negotiated a deal with Washington to lower its 40% tariff rate but could now see its tariff rate drop to 15%, at least temporarily.
With November’s midterm elections looming, Trump’s approval rating on his handling of the economy has steadily declined during his year in office, with 34% of respondents saying they approve and 57% saying they disapprove in a Reuters/Ipsos poll that closed on Monday.
Affordability remains a top concern for voters. Democrats, who need to flip only three Republican-held seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in November to win a majority, have blamed Trump’s tariffs for exacerbating the rising cost of living.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and Doina Chiacu in Washington; Writing by Joseph Ax; Editing by Rod Nickel)
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