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Donald Trump is implementing a new global tariff at 10 per cent rather than the 15 per cent rate announced at the weekend, after his defeat at the Supreme Court, according to a notice from the US customs agency.
Trump’s move to apply a 10 per cent global levy on Tuesday at 12:01am eastern US time, delaying the enactment of the 15 per cent tariff, follows a backlash to the higher rate among several key US trading partners, including the EU and the UK.
The White House signalled that Trump was still committed to setting a global tariff of 15 per cent later on. “It is being worked on and will come later,” an official said, without offering any specific timeline.
After the Supreme Court on Friday ruled that the sweeping levies Trump imposed on US trading partners based on emergency powers were illegal, the president quickly moved to replace them under a different statute with a temporary global levy of 10 per cent for 150 days starting on Tuesday.
But on Saturday, in a Truth Social media post, Trump said that he was “immediately” raising that global levy to 15 per cent — an increase that has not materialised yet.
The delayed application of the higher flat tariff could offer a window for governments and businesses to lobby for exemptions and secure preferential treatments from Trump in the new regime.
The Trump administration offered carve-outs for a wide range of products from the 10 per cent levy when it was announced on Friday, as well as many imports from Canada and Mexico.
The new global levy has generated a particular backlash among America’s European allies, which struck preferential trade agreements in exchange for lower tariffs with Trump last year, and are now seeing the benefits of those deals eroded in the new regime.
On Monday, following weekend talks between senior US and UK officials, Downing Street hinted at possible retaliation, warning that “nothing is off the table” if the US imposes the 15 per cent levy.
Meanwhile, the EU is delaying ratification of its own trade deal with the US in response to the 15 per cent plan.
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