updated ,first published
Washington: Donald Trump’s new global tariffs on imports to the United States are about to go into effect at 10% instead of the threatened 15%, as President Donald Trump vows to “play games” on social media and retaliate against any country that disrespects the Supreme Court.
The new tariffs were introduced after transportation and logistics giant FedEx filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration seeking a “full refund” of tariffs imposed by the president using emergency powers. The country’s highest court ruled it illegal. last week.
A US Customs and Border Protection bulletin issued on Monday night (Washington time) said the new global tariffs will be collected at a rate of 10% from midnight (4pm AEDT). The level originally announced by President Trump After the court’s bombshell verdict. A separate notification confirmed that the collection of old obligations will also be stopped at the same time.
Even though President Trump posted on social media the day after the court ruling: Raise tax rate to 15% “immediately”his proclamation was neither altered nor reissued. This means that, for the time being, exports from Australia to the US will be subject to essentially the same tariffs as before the court’s ruling.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government would continue to advocate against tariffs on Australian goods, saying: “We reiterate our view that these tariffs are unfair.”
The new global tariffs are established under the Trade Act of 1974, which allows the President of the United States to impose interim tariffs of up to 15 percent for 150 days to address emergency balance of payments shortfalls. Congress would then have to extend the tariffs.
President Trump continued to lash out at the Supreme Court in a series of social media posts on Monday, spelling out its name in lower case to show his “total lack of respect” for the nation’s highest court.
“Our incompetent Supreme Court has done a great job for the wrong people, and they should be ashamed of themselves for that,” he wrote.
He considered the legality of the executive order suspending automatic birthright citizenship for children born to parents without legal status in the United States or who are temporarily in the country, and predicted the court would rule “in China’s favor.”
“Let the Supreme Court continue to make decisions that are so egregious and harmful to the future of our country. I have a job to do,” he wrote. The Supreme Court justices are scheduled to attend President Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night (Washington time).
The president claimed that the court had affirmed the legality of all tariffs other than those enacted using emergency powers. He also argued that there was no need to get Congressional approval for tariffs, saying, “Tariffs were already obtained in many forms a long time ago!”
President Trump warned foreign countries not to play “games” with the new tariff system. The remarks came after the European Union announced it would suspend ratification of trade deals with the United States while Trump made clear what he intended to do next.
“At the moment we don’t have it and it’s not our responsibility to provide it. A deal is a deal,” European Commission spokesman Olof Gil said in Brussels. “We’re just saying to the United States that it’s up to you to clearly articulate what path you’re going to take to keep the deal.”
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump said, “Countries that want to ‘play games’ with ridiculous Supreme Court rulings, especially those that have been ‘ripping off’ the United States for years, even decades, will be subject to tariffs much higher and worse than the ones they just recently agreed to. Buyer beware!!!”
The White House did not respond to questions about exemptions for Australia and other countries where the United States already enjoys a trade surplus, or whether the tax rate would continue to rise to 15%.
If a flat 15% tariff were applied, the EU would face trade-weighted average tariffs that were 0.77 percentage points higher than before the Supreme Court ruling, according to an analysis by Switzerland-based Global Trade Alert. Trade-weighted average tariffs on Australia’s exports will be 1.84 percentage points higher.
Whether it’s 10% or 15%, the biggest beneficiaries will be Brazil, China and India, whose average tariffs will be significantly lower than they were before the court’s ruling.
Justin Wolfers, professor of Australian economics at the University of Michigan, said while Australia might lose its comparative advantage under a global tariff, the economy of China, Australia’s largest trading partner, would benefit.
Meanwhile, FedEx appears to be the first major U.S. company to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration seeking restitution of duties unfairly collected over the past year.
The company did not disclose the amount. The case was brought before the International Trade Court, which first lifted the tariffs last year and the Supreme Court, which said there should be further challenges to refunds.
President Trump criticized the Supreme Court’s failure to rule on refunds. He said the litigation would likely drag on for years, while Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he did not expect Americans to see an estimated $175 billion ($248 billion) in refunds.
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