President Donald Trump on Saturday said he will slap a 15pc tariff on all US imports, less than 24 hours after his administration unveiled a 10pc global import tax meant to replace the emergency tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court on Friday.
Trump, in a social media post, said that he "will be, effective immediately, raising the 10pc 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, 15pc level". Trump cited "a thorough, detailed, and complete review of the ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American decision on Tariffs issued" on Friday as a justification for his decision.
The White House has yet to release an official record of any decision to implement Trump's 15pc tariff threat.
Trump on Friday had to rescind executive orders he signed in the past year that imposed tariffs by invoking the economic emergency authority that the Supreme Court found to be illegal.
Trump, in a separate proclamation on Friday, invoked Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act to impose a 10pc tax on all US imports from 24 February. Trump's decision on Friday exempted energy, critical minerals, fertilizers and certain agricultural imports from new import taxes. The 10pc tax, which was to be in effect for 150 days — until 24 July — exempted imports eligible for duty-free treatment under the US-Mexico-Canada free trade agreement (USMCA).
Why 10pc or 15pc?
It is not clear why Trump announced on Saturday that he would raise the Section 122 tariff to the maximally allowed 15pc, or why his administration initially chose a lower rate, at 10pc.
The Trump administration had signaled since mid-January that it would opt for a 10pc tariff under Section 122 authority if the Supreme Court struck down Trump's emergency tariff. The Trump administration said it was planning to use the 150-day duration of the Section 122 tariffs to rapidly put in place other tariffs targeting specific industries and countries under existing, previously used trade authorities.
While Trump said that his Section 122 tariff authority is "legally tested", no other president has invoked this power, and US courts have not weighed on its merits before.
But Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh, who dissented from the majority decision that struck down Trump's emergency tariffs, cited Section 122 five times in his separate opinion issued on Friday. Kavanaugh argued that since Congress delegated to the executive branch broad tariff authority to impose tariffs under Section 122 and multiple other laws, there was no reason to dispute Trump's authority to impose tariffs by invoking economic emergencies.
Trump on Saturday called Kavanaugh "my new hero", together with two other justices who voted to uphold Trump's tariffs. Trump continued to lob insults at conservative justices who voted to strike down his tariffs, calling them "fools" and "lapdogs" of "radical left Democrats".
More court action likely
Despite criticism of the court's decision, Trump and his top officials have tried to put a positive spin on the ruling by arguing that he will instead impose "stronger" tariffs and raise even more revenue. But his Section 122 tariffs likely will face challenges in courts.
The Supreme Court's majority opinion hinged on the finding that Congress did not explicitly authorize Trump to impose taxes, in the form of tariffs, under the legal authority he has cited. Chief justice John Roberts and two of the justices Trump appointed during his first term, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett, also referenced the "major questions" doctrine to justify their decision, meaning that Congress, not the White House, should decide on matters of major economic significance.
Trump has left little doubt that he plans to bypass Congress in rolling out new tariffs. "I have the right to do tariffs," he said on Friday. "We have a right to do pretty much what we want to do."
The Republican-led US Congress has not challenged Trump's tariff authority to date, although lawmakers have increasingly voiced concerns about the effect of tariffs on prices. In the House of Representatives, where the Republican majority has shrunk to one, several Republican members have expressed support for the Supreme Court's decision.
Trump on Saturday blasted one of those lawmakers, Jeff Hurd (R-Colorado), for "a lack of support, in particular for the unbelievably successful TARIFFS imposed on Foreign Countries and Companies". Trump endorsed Hurd's opponent in the upcoming Republican primary.
