Trump Raises Replacement Global Tariff to 15 Percent, the Legal Maximum

President Trump said Saturday that the global tariff he announced after the Supreme Court struck down his emergency-law duties will rise from 10 percent to 15 percent, “effective immediately,” according to NBC News, CBS News and CNBC. In a post on Truth Social, he called 15 percent “the fully allowed, and legally tested” level. He also described the ruling as “ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American,” as CBS News and CNBC reported.

The court ruled 6-3 on Friday that Trump wrongly used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose his tariffs, NBC News and ABC News reported. Trump then signed a proclamation for a 10 percent global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. CBS News and CNBC said the 10 percent tariff is scheduled to take effect on Tuesday, Feb. 24, at 12:01 a.m. Eastern, according to a White House fact sheet.

It was unclear Saturday when the 15 percent rate would start. CBS News, CNBC and ABC News each reported that it was not clear whether or when Trump would sign an order for the higher figure. CNBC quoted Trump as saying the administration would “determine and issue the new and legally permissible Tariffs” in the coming months, and that more levies would follow.

Section 122 lets a president impose a temporary import surcharge of up to 15 percent to address large balance-of-payments problems. The duties can last 150 days unless Congress extends them, NBC News, CBS News and CNBC said. NBC News noted the law does not clearly say whether a president could reimpose the tariffs by new order once the period ends. CBS News added that the new tariff could face legal challenges.

The ruling did not touch tariffs imposed under other laws. CBS News said duties on steel, aluminum and autos are unaffected, and NBC News said sector-specific duties on autos, car parts and semiconductor chips remain. NBC News reported that U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the administration will open Section 301 investigations into most major trading partners on an accelerated timeframe, and ABC News said Trump also spoke of launching such investigations.

How the new rate lands will differ by country. NBC News reported that most imports from Japan and the European Union already faced 15 percent before the ruling, so their rate changes little, while Mexico, Canada, China, India and Brazil are expected to see reductions. On refunds to importers, CNBC reported that how the government will handle them remains an open question, and ABC News said Trump signaled he would not pay them voluntarily.

Trump also attacked the justices who ruled against him. CBS News and CNBC reported that he criticized Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, who voted with the majority. He praised Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s dissent, along with those of Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, according to CBS News and ABC News.

The ruling and the president’s response set up an uncertain stretch for importers and for the trading partners that struck deals with Washington. Whether the 15 percent figure is formalized in an order, and what the administration does with the 150-day window, will shape what companies pay in the weeks ahead.