Trump announces a rise in global tariffs to 15% in response to court ruling, as trade tensions intensify

President Trump announced he is raising a proposed global tariff to 15%, just one day after he had initially set the rate at 10%. The move is a direct response to a major legal setback at the Supreme Court. Trump announced on Truth Social that this would be increased to the maximum allowed under a never-used trade law.

The newly imposed tariffs will stay in place for around five months before the administration must seek congressional approval. He said his administration had reached the decision to raise the levy following a review of the Supreme Court's “ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American decision on tariff issues yesterday.

The ruling to strike down the tariffs was decided by the court’s three liberal justices, Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative nominated by George W.Bush; and two justices nominated by Trump: Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch.

Trump’s tariffs are a cornerstone of his economic policy, which he said will encourage businesses to invest and produce goods in the US, rather than overseas. The court’s decision marks a pivotal check on his power and a major blow to his second-term agenda.

Keeping in line with the current decision, a White House official said countries that had previously reached trade deals with the US, including the UK, would face the global tariff under Section 122 rather than the tariff rate they had discussed before.

In this connection, the leader of a UK business group said: “The new 15% import tariffs are bad for trade for US consumers and businesses and will weaken global economic growth.”

According to the BBC, the Supreme Court ruling also opened the door for consumers and businesses to seek refunds from the unlawful tariffs, though the high court did not make a decision on whether reimbursements should be issued. However, Trump specified that refunds would not come without a legal battle, which he claimed could take years.

US Senator Maria Cantwell, a Democrat who has written a letter to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, is shedding light on whether the administration has a plan to refund businesses. 

On the other hand, Senator John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana argued that if Democrats push for refunds, it could backfire and help Republicans in the next election cycle. Kennedy was of the view that this could be a major advantage for the US business community, helping the economy thrive ahead of the midterm elections in November.