Trump says he will raise US global tariff rate from 10% to 15%

WASHINGTON, Feb 21 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump said on Saturday he will raise temporary tariffs on almost all U.S. imports from 10% to 15%, the maximum level allowed under the law, after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down his previous tariff program as invalid.

Trump had immediately announced a 10% across-the-board tariff on Friday after the court’s decision, which found the president had exceeded his authority when he imposed an array of higher rates under an economic emergency law.

The new levies are grounded in a separate law, known as Section 122, that allows tariffs up to 15% but requires congressional approval to extend them after 150 days.

In a social media post on Saturday, Trump said he would use that period to work on issuing other “legally permissible” tariffs. The administration intends to rely on two other statutes that permit import taxes on specific products or countries based on investigations into national security or unfair trade practices.

“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,” he wrote in a Truth Social post.

Trump has shown little sign of backing off his global trade war in the hours since the court’s 6-3 decision, attacking individual justices in personal terms and insisting he retained the power to impose tariffs as he sees fit.

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Rod Nickel)