Trump Warns Countries ‘Playing Games’ With US Trade Deals Will Face Higher Tariffs
US President Donald Trump on Monday warned countries not to back out of newly negotiated trade deals with the US after the Supreme Court lifted his emergency tariffs, saying if he did, he would hit them with higher duties under different trade laws.
Trump, in a series of social media posts, has said he may raise license fees on trading partners as uncertainty over his next spending spree grips the global economy and lowers stocks.
“Any Country that wants to ‘play games’ with an absurd supreme court decision, especially one that has ‘outed’ the USA for years, even decades, will be met with much higher Tariffs, and worse, than the one they just agreed to. BUYER BEWARE!!! Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump said that despite the court’s decision to suspend his tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, its ruling confirms his ability to impose tariffs under other legal authorities “in a much more powerful and repulsive manner, with legal certainty, than Tariffs as originally implemented.”
He suggested that the US could impose new license fees on trading partners, but did not provide details.
A spokesman for the US Trade Representative’s office did not immediately respond to a request for further comment on Trump’s plans.
In Brussels, the European Parliament decided on Monday to postpone a vote on the European Union’s trade agreement with the US after Trump imposed a new temporary import duty of 15% on imports from all countries.
EU goods under this agreement will face a US tariff of 15%, except for exemptions on hundreds of food items, aircraft parts, precious minerals, pharmaceutical ingredients and other goods, while the EU will remove duties on most imports from the US, including industrial goods.
Trump on Friday first announced a temporary duty under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 at 10%, but increased it to 15%, the maximum allowed under the law, on Saturday.
The new job will go into effect at 12:01 am EST (0501 GMT) on Tuesday. At the same time, the US Customs and Border Protection Agency said it would stop collecting IEEPA’s illegal activities, more than three days after the Supreme Court’s decision.
Uncertainty dampens markets
Wall Street stocks ended lower on Monday as renewed tax uncertainty following a Supreme Court ruling and concerns about artificial intelligence-fueled disruptions weighed on investors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.65%, the S&P 500 fell 1.02%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.01%. The dollar weakened against the euro and the yen.
The path forward for Trump’s trade deals remains unclear, with China urging Washington to scrap the tariffs, the EU suspending its ratification and India delaying planned talks.
US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said over the weekend that the Trump administration is expected to open a new Section 301 investigation into unfair trade practices in several countries, a legal step expected to allow it to threaten new tariffs.
A group of 22 Democratic US Senators introduced legislation aimed at forcing the Trump administration to refund all illegal IEEPA-based taxes within 180 days, but faced an uncertain vote.
Trump has used his social media platform to further criticize the justices who have opposed him, including two he appointed during his first term in the White House. In its ruling, which was upheld by conservative Justice John Roberts, the court reaffirmed its ability to check the power of the president.
The president also expressed concern that the high court may issue a decision against the decision of his administration to block the right to be born as a citizen in the decision that will come out of this case.
(Reporting by Susan Heavey, David Lawder and Doina Chiacu; Writing by David Lawder; Editing by Doina Chiacu, William Maclean and Nick Zieminski)
