US Tariffs Rise: 10% Worldwide Impact Now Active

Washington: Donald Trump’s new worldwide tariff on imports to America has gone into effect at 10 percent, not 15 percent as threatened, as the US president vowed to retaliate against any country that “played games.” He also criticized the Supreme Court on social media.

Tariff Implementation and Legal Challenges

The new tariff came as transport and logistics giant FedEx sued the Trump administration for “a full refund” of the tariffs Trump had imposed using emergency powers, which were ruled unlawful by the nation’s highest court last week.

A US Customs and Border Protection bulletin issued Monday evening (Washington time) said the new global tariff would be collected from midnight (4pm AEDT) at a rate of 10 percent – the level Trump initially announced after the court’s decision. A separate notice confirmed that the collection of the old duties would cease at the same time.

Despite Trump posting on social media the day after the court ruling that he would “immediately” lift the rate to 15 percent, the text of his proclamation was not changed or reissued. This means that, for now, Australian exports to the US will attract essentially the same tariff as before the court ruling.

International Reactions

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said the government will continue to make its case against tariffs on Australian goods: “We repeat our view that these tariffs are unfair.”

The president asserted that the court had affirmed the legality of all tariffs other than the ones he had enacted using emergency powers. He also claimed he did not need to get congressional approval for tariffs: “It has already been gotten, in many forms, a long time ago!”

Trump warned foreign countries not to “play games” with the new tariff regime. That remark came after the European Union said it was pausing ratification of its trade deal with the US while it sought clarity on what Trump intended to do next.

“At this point in time, we do not have that, and it’s not up to us to provide it. A deal is a deal,” said European Commission spokesman Olof Gill in Brussels.

Meanwhile, FedEx appeared to become the first major US company to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration for refunds of the tariffs improperly collected over the past year. The company did not say how much it was seeking. The suit was filed in the Court of International Trade, which first struck down the tariffs last year and is the court to which the Supreme Court said further challenges for refunds should be made.

Trump called it crazy that the Supreme Court did not make a ruling on refunds. He said litigation would probably continue for years, while US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he did not think the American people would see an estimated $US175 billion ($248 billion) in potential refunds.