President Donald Trump issued a sharp warning to trading countries on Monday, stating that any nation attempting to “play games” or backtrack on recently negotiated trade deals will even face steeper financial penalties. He signaled a willingness to impose significantly higher duties under various trade laws.
Trump wrote on Truth Social, “Any country that wants to play games with the ridiculous supreme court decision especially those that have “Ripped Off” the USA for years, and even decades will be met with a much higher Tariff, than that which they just recently agreed.”
Despite the Supreme court’s decision to invalidate the tariffs, Trump argued the ruling actually affirmed his ability to use other legal authorities “in a much more powerful and obnoxious way, with legal certainty than the initial tariffs.”
The new duty took effect at 12:01 a.m. EST (0501 GMT) on Tuesday. Similarly, the US Customs and Broader Protection announced it would stop collecting the illegal-IEEPA duties-ruled illegal by the Supreme Court-more than three days after the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Moving forward, the European Parliament is working to postpone a vote on the European Union's trade deal with the US after Trump imposed new custom duties of 15% on imports from all countries.
On the other hand, EU goods under the newly imposed deal would face a 15% US tariff, with exemptions for food items, aircraft parts, critical minerals, and pharmaceutical ingredients. In return, the EU is expected to remove duties on various US imports, including industrial goods.
Uncertainty remains regarding the path forward for Trump’s foreign trade deals, as China urges Washington to eliminate custom charges.
According to Reuters, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer clarified over the weekend that the Trump administration plans to launch a new Section 301 unfair trade investigation targeting most trading partners. Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, a group of 22 Democratic US senators introduced legislation mandating that the administration issue refunds for all illegal IEEPA-based tariffs within 180 days.
Trump has been vocal about his recent setbacks, using social media to last out against the justices who ruled against him. The majority opinion, authored by conservative Chief Justice John Roberts, stated that the court reaffirmed its authority to check executive power.
US shares dropped on Monday, with the S&P falling about 1% weighed down by trade uncertainty that analysts and businesses expect to persist. The new 15% tariffs are scheduled to expire after 150 days. While Trump argued that he does not require congressional approval for these duties, Senate Democratic minority leader Chuck Schumer warned on Monday that Democrats would block any attempt to extend them.