US trade war: Trump raises global tariffs despite Supreme Court verdict

United States President Donald Trump has increased global tariffs on imported goods from 10 per cent to 15 per cent, a day after the US Supreme Court struck down his previous sweeping tariff order.

Trump announced the fresh hike on Saturday via a post on Truth Social, signalling a renewed escalation in the ongoing US trade war despite the court’s ruling.

The decision follows a 6–3 verdict by the Supreme Court which invalidated Trump’s earlier tariff directive. The justices held that the president overstepped his authority by invoking the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose broad import taxes without congressional approval.

Reacting sharply to the ruling, Trump criticised members of the bench, saying he was “absolutely ashamed” of some of the justices who voted to rescind his order.

He described the judgment as “ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American,” insisting that his administration would proceed with a revised tariff framework.

“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.

The president added that his administration would determine and formally issue the new tariff structure within the next “short number” of months.

The now-invalidated tariffs were originally scheduled to take effect on February 24. However, the Supreme Court affirmed a lower court’s finding that Trump’s reliance on the IEEPA — a statute designed to address national emergencies — did not grant him unilateral authority to impose sweeping global trade levies. In its ruling, the court stated that the law could not be used to introduce broad-based import taxes without the approval of Congress.

Despite striking down the wider tariff regime, the court allowed certain targeted tariffs on specific goods from particular countries to remain in place. The partial allowance could provide the administration with room to restructure aspects of its trade policy under different legal mechanisms.

Saturday’s announcement signals that the White House is moving ahead with its trade agenda, setting the stage for further legal and political battles over executive authority and US trade policy.

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