Trump now raises US global tariff to 15 per cent

US President Donald Trump on Saturday doubled down on the global tariffs issue announcing that his administration would raise reciprocal tariffs to 15 per cent, 5 per cent up from his earlier announcement. Trump said on his Truth Social platform that after a thorough review of Friday's "extraordinarily anti-American decision" by the court to rein in his tariff program, the administration was hiking the import levies "to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level." Trump added that over the next few months, his administration would seek further alternative ways to impose "legally permissible" tariffs.“Please let this statement serve to represent that I, as President of the United States of America, will be, effective immediately, raising the 10% 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, 15% level,” Trump said.
“During the next short number of months, the Trump Administration will determine and issue the new and legally permissible Tariffs, which will continue our extraordinarily successful process of Making America Great Again,” his social media post added. The new duty by law is only temporary -- allowable for 150 days. According to a White House fact sheet, exemptions remain for sectors that are under separate probes, including pharma, and goods entering the US under the US-Mexico-Canada agreement.
Trump spent much of the past year imposing various rates to cajole and punish countries, both friend and foe. The conservative-majority high court ruled six to three on Friday that a 1977 law Trump has relied on to slap sudden rates on individual countries, upending global trade, "does not authorize the President to impose tariffs." Now, with Trump announcing a 15 per cent “global tariff”, the effective tariff on India works out to 18.5 per cent, a negligible change from the 18 per cent rate agreed upon as part of the trade deal earlier this month