U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday warned countries against backing away from recently negotiated trade deals with the United States after the Supreme Court struck down his emergency tariffs, saying he would impose much higher duties under different trade laws.
In a series of social media posts, Trump said he may also introduce license fees on trading partners, as uncertainty over his next tariff moves gripped the global economy and sent stocks lower.
“Any country that wants to ‘play games’ with the ridiculous Supreme Court decision, especially those that have ‘ripped off’ the U.S.A. for years, and even decades, will be met with a much higher tariff, and worse, than that which they just recently agreed to. Buyer beware!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump said that although the court invalidated his tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the ruling affirmed his ability to use tariffs under other legal authorities “in a much more powerful and obnoxious way, with legal certainty, than the tariffs as initially used.”
He suggested the United States could impose new license fees on trading partners but did not provide details.
A spokesperson for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s plans.
In Brussels, the European Parliament decided Monday to postpone a vote on the European Union’s trade deal with the United States after Trump imposed a new temporary 15% import duty on goods from all countries.
Under the proposed deal, EU goods would face a 15% U.S. tariff, with exemptions for hundreds of food items, aircraft parts, critical minerals, pharmaceutical ingredients and other products. The EU would remove duties on many U.S. imports, including industrial goods.
Trump initially announced the temporary duty at 10% on Friday under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, then raised it to 15% — the maximum allowed under the statute — on Saturday.
The new duty is set to take effect at 12:01 a.m. EST (0501 GMT) on Tuesday. At the same time, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it would stop collecting the now-invalid IEEPA duties, more than three days after the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Uncertainty unnerves markets
Wall Street stocks fell in early trading Monday as renewed tariff uncertainty following the court’s decision rattled investors. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.34%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.65% and the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.65% in mid-morning trade.
The U.S. dollar index slipped 0.2% against major currencies.
The path forward for Trump’s trade agenda remained unclear. China urged Washington to scrap tariff measures, the EU froze its approval process and India delayed planned talks.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said over the weekend that the administration expected to open new Section 301 investigations into alleged unfair trade practices by several countries, a move that could pave the way for additional tariffs.
Trump also criticized the justices who ruled against him, including two he appointed during his first term. In the majority opinion authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court reasserted its authority to check presidential power.
The president further expressed concern that the court could rule against his administration’s effort to restrict birthright citizenship in a separate pending case.