Washington: Donald Trump’s new worldwide tariff on imports to America has gone into effect – at a rate of 10 percent, despite a threat to raise it to 15 percent – as the US president vowed to retaliate against any country that “played games,” and continued to publicly criticize the Supreme Court.
The tariff took effect at midnight Washington time on Monday, following a bulletin issued by US Customs and Border Protection. The 10 percent rate matches the initial level Trump announced after the Supreme Court’s ruling last week, which struck down a previous set of tariffs imposed under different legal authority. A separate notice confirmed the cessation of collection for the previously invalidated duties at the same time.
While Trump posted on social media on Saturday that he would “immediately” increase the rate to 15 percent following a “thorough, detailed, and complete review” of the court decision, the text of his proclamation remained unchanged. This means, for now, Australian exports to the US will face tariffs consistent with those in place before the Supreme Court ruling.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reiterated his government’s opposition to the tariffs, stating, “We repeat our view that these tariffs are unfair.”
The new tariffs are being enacted under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which permits the US president to impose temporary tariffs of up to 15 percent for 150 days to address significant balance-of-payments concerns. Any extension beyond that period would require congressional approval.
Trump continued his criticism of the Supreme Court on Monday, repeatedly referring to it in lowercase on social media – a deliberate choice intended to signal his “complete lack of respect” for the nation’s highest court. “Our incompetent supreme court did a great job for the wrong people, and for that they should be ashamed of themselves,” he wrote.
He further predicted the court would rule against him when it considers the legality of his executive order seeking to end automatic birthright citizenship for children born in the US to parents without legal status or those in the country temporarily. “Let our supreme court retain making decisions that are so disappointing and deleterious to the future of our Nation – I have a job to do,” he added. The Supreme Court justices are scheduled to attend Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night.
Trump asserted that the court had upheld the legality of all tariffs except those imposed using the emergency powers that were deemed unlawful. He also claimed he does not require congressional approval for tariffs, stating, “It has already been gotten, in many forms, a long time ago!”
The president warned foreign countries against attempting to circumvent the new tariff regime. This followed a statement from the European Union indicating it would pause ratification of its trade deal with the US pending clarification on Trump’s intentions. “At this point in time, we do not have that, and it’s not up to us to provide it. A deal is a deal,” said European Commission spokesman Olof Gill in Brussels. “We are simply saying to the US, it’s up to you to clearly show to us what path you are taking to honour the agreement.”
In a Truth Social post, Trump warned, “Any Country that wants to ‘play games’ with the ridiculous supreme court decision, especially those that have ‘Ripped Off’ the U.S.A. For years, and even decades, will be met with a much higher Tariff, and worse, than that which they just recently agreed to. BUYER BEWARE!!!”
The White House has not responded to inquiries regarding potential exemptions for Australia or other countries with which the US maintains a trade surplus, nor has it addressed questions about whether the tariff rate will ultimately increase to 15 percent.
Analysis by the Switzerland-based Global Trade Alert suggests that a blanket 15 percent tariff would result in a trade-weighted average tariff increase of 0.77 percentage points for the EU compared to pre-ruling levels. For Australian exports, the increase would be 1.84 percentage points. Conversely, Brazil, China, and India would see significantly lower average tariffs.
Meanwhile, FedEx has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in the Court of International Trade, seeking a “full refund” of the tariffs previously imposed using the emergency powers deemed unlawful by the Supreme Court. The company has not disclosed the amount of the refund it is seeking. The Court of International Trade initially struck down the tariffs last year and is the designated venue for challenges related to refunds, as directed by the Supreme Court.
Trump dismissed the lawsuit as “crazy,” suggesting litigation would continue for years. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated he does not anticipate the American people will receive an estimated $175 billion in potential refunds.
