The White House plans to impose a 15% tariff through Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Donald Trump’s invocation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977.
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U.S. President Donald Trump has stepped up his threat of tariffs following last week’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that his sweeping global tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act were illegal.
President Trump said in a post on his social media platform Truth Social on Monday that countries that want to “play the game” will be subject to “much higher tariffs” after the high court’s ruling.
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In another post on his platform, President Trump argued that the tariffs do not require Congressional approval.
“As President, I don’t need to go back to Congress to get tariffs approved. Tariffs were already obtained in many forms a long time ago! And they were just reaffirmed by a ridiculous and poorly crafted Supreme Court decision!” Trump said in the post.
President Trump also has the power to impose other tariffs, but his powers are far more limited.
Following Friday’s 6-3 court ruling, the president announced a 10% tariff under Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act, increasing to 15% by Saturday. The tariffs are a cap under the law that the White House can impose for 150 days.
The law requires only a presidential declaration and does not require further investigation. Article 122 is only temporary. After that, the tariffs would expire unless extended by Congress.
President Trump’s tariffs are overwhelmingly unpopular. A new Washington Post, ABC News, and Ipsos poll found that 64% of Americans disapprove of the president’s tariff policies.
looming uncertainty
Experts have warned that President Trump’s new tariffs will create further economic uncertainty.
“What we do know is that all affected parties must continue to live with uncertainty. As many have already pointed out, such uncertainty is bad for our economy and has a negative impact on American consumers,” Max Kulik, partner and CEO of private wealth advisory firm Chicory Wealth, told Al Jazeera.
“It’s impossible to plan. You hear that tariffs will be waived, you think about how you can get your money back, and then a few hours later it’s 10%. And the next day it’s 15%… Not having that stable framework is detrimental to activity, jobs and investment,” Gregory Daco, chief economist at EY Parthenon, told Reuters.
Gold, considered a safe investment during times of economic uncertainty, rose 2% on Monday to a three-week high as tariff pressures remained uncertain.
The US market has also been hit. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 1.1% in intraday trading. The S&P 500 is also down 1%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 1.5% since the market opened on Monday.
Stalled trade agreements
President Trump’s erratic approach is also hampering progress on an impending trade deal.
The European Parliament chose on Monday to postpone a vote on a trade deal with the United States. This is the second time the bloc has returned a vote. The first was a protest against President Trump’s unilateral attempt to acquire Greenland.
Congress was considering eliminating some import duties from the European Union (EU) on American products. Commission President Bernd Lange said new interim US tariffs could mean increased levies on some EU exports, and no one knows what will happen after they expire in 150 days. EU lawmakers are scheduled to meet again on March 4 to assess whether the US has clarified the situation and confirmed its commitment to last year’s deal.
