Trump Imposes 10% Global Tariff to Rescue Trade Plans

President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order that places a 10% worldwide tariff on imported products, acting swiftly to protect his trade policies following the US Supreme Court’s rejection of numerous tariffs he enacted last year.

“I am greatly honored to have just signed from the Oval Office a universal 10% tariff on all nations, which will take effect almost immediately. Thank you for your attention to this issue!” Trump posted on social media Friday night.

The full text of the executive order was not made available right away.

Trump had earlier stated he was enacting the new standard duty using Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act, which gives the president sole authority to levy tariffs. However, this rarely-used legal clause imposes a 150-day restriction on how long the tariffs can stay active. Any prolongation would require congressional approval.

In a 6-3 ruling delivered earlier Friday, the Supreme Court determined that Trump’s utilization of an old federal emergency powers statute to implement his so-called “reciprocal” tariffs was illegal. Trump had used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act last April to place duties on dozens of America’s trading partners, with rates from 10% to 50%.

The justices nullified those tariffs as well as duties on products from Canada, Mexico, and China that Trump had imposed to combat fentanyl trafficking. The decision also questions the validity of separate IEEPA tariffs on goods from Brazil and India.

In addition to the uniform 10% rate, Trump indicated he would maintain current import duties under Section 301 and Section 232 and announced intentions to initiate additional trade probes.

Earlier:

Section 301 tariffs necessitate investigations focused on individual countries, which must include public hearings and allow for feedback from impacted businesses or governments. Authorities would have to determine that the nation has breached a trade deal or adopted practices that harm American commerce before imposing such tariffs.

The Trump administration has previously employed these tools to levy duties on Chinese goods, vehicles, and metals. On Friday, the president indicated that such investigations could proceed while the 10% baseline tariff remains active, and could ultimately supplant the uniform rate — though he would not exclude the possibility of seeking to extend the Section 122 tariffs. Trump mentioned he was considering tariffs on imported automobiles between 15% and 30%.

According to Bloomberg Economics, the president’s proposal to implement a 10% worldwide duty might raise America’s average effective tariff rate to 16.5% from 13.6%, or reduce it to 11.4% if existing exemptions are preserved.

However, the ruling also creates new uncertainties regarding tariff revenue that has already been collected. Based on a report, over 1,500 companies had submitted tariff-related lawsuits to the trade court in anticipation of the decision.

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The justices did not address whether importers should receive refunds, deferring that question to a lower court. Trump faulted the Supreme Court for failing to offer direction on refund procedures. “That wasn’t addressed. We’re going to be tied up in litigation for the next five years,” Trump complained during a White House briefing.

Potential refunds could reach $170 billion — exceeding half of all revenue generated by Trump’s tariffs. Nevertheless, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that tariff collections will be “” despite the court ruling.

“Treasury projections indicate that utilizing Section 122 authority, together with possibly strengthened Section 232 and Section 301 tariffs, will produce essentially stable tariff revenue in 2026,” he said at the Economic Club of Dallas on Friday.