Donald Trump’s new 10% global tariff comes into effect

US president had said he would raise levy to 15% after last week’s supreme court ruling.

Donald Trump’s new global tariffs have taken effect at 10%, even though he had threatened a higher rate of 15% over the weekend, providing “some relief” for British businesses, according to a lobby group.

After the US president suffered a defeat at the hands of the supreme court on Friday, which struck down his sweeping “liberation day” tariffs imposed last year, he reacted angrily by announcing a 10% global tariff, which he raised to 15% on Saturday in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.

According to a notice from the US customs agency, “an additional 10% ad valorem duty on imported articles of every country” has been imposed for a period of 150 days from Tuesday, unless specifically exempted.

Trump’s new global tariffs kick in at 10% – business live

TheTrump administration is implementing the new duties under section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, without approval from Congress. The 10% rate will apply on top of the US’s most favored nation duties. The uplift to 15 percent announced by Trump on Saturday has yet to be implemented, but could be introduced at any time.

“While a new 10% tariff rate, instead of the threatened 15%, will provide some relief it shows how difficult it is for businesses to plan ahead,” said William Bain, the head of trade policy at the British Chambers of Commerce.

“It is far from clear what will happen next, and whether a higher tariff rate is still on the way. Despite the immediate reprieve, there is fresh uncertainty for UK firms exporting goods to the US.”

“This makes it very difficult for firms to understand the prices and margins they will be able to secure for their goods, currently under production, for export in several months’ time. Inevitably this will have an impact on their sales and hit the economy.”

Last week, the US’s top court declared many of Trump’s tariffs illegal. It ruled that a 1977 law designed to address national emergencies did not provide the legal justification for most of the Trump administration’s tariffs on countries around the world.

Atakan Bakiskan, a US economist at the bank Berenberg, said: “The new Section 122 tariffs may also face court challenges, as the current US trade deficit may not meet the condition of “large and serious balance-of-payments” deficits that grant the president authority to impose tariffs to address “fundamental international payments problems.”

However, he added: “It would be surprising if the Trump administration, after the 150 days during which the 15% tariffs remain in effect (assuming Congress does not vote to extend them), were to back down from its protectionist trade policy agenda. During this 150-day period, it will likely explore new pathways to move closer to its preferred tariff regime. There are several options available.”

US President Donald Trump’s new global tariffs have come into effect at 10% despite a vow to introduce them at a higher rate.

After the Supreme Court blocked many of its sweeping import taxes on Friday, the president said he would introduce a 10% global rate. He then said on Saturday that the rate would be 15%.

However, as per official documents, the tariffs have been set at the lower rate from Tuesday with no directive to increase the rate issued. The BBC has contacted the White House for comment.

“I think it simply adds to the chaos and mess,” said Carsten Brzeski, an analyst with investment bank ING, referring to the fast-changing tariffs and their impacts on businesses.

“In terms of uncertainty we’re back to where we were last year,” he told the BBC’s Today programme, adding there was now a higher risk that the US’s trading partners would retaliate.

“The risk of a real fully-fledged tariff war – trade war – escalation is clearly higher than last year,” he said.

An executive order signed byTrump on Friday said the temporary 10% import duty was intended to “address fundamental international payments problems and continue the Administration’s work to rebalance our trade relations to benefit American workers, farmers, and manufacturers”.

The administration is applying the levy under Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act, which allows the president to impose the charge for 150 days without congressional approval.

The president has argued that tariffs are necessary to reduce America’s trade deficit—the amount by which imports exceed exports. But the deficit reached a fresh high last week, widening by 2.1% compared to 2024 and hitting roughly $1.2 trillion (£890bn).

The US has already collected at least $130 billion in tariffs using the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), according to the most recent official data.

Trump has been highly critical of the Supreme Court’s decision, calling it “ridiculous, poorly written, and unusually anti-American”.

In a 6-3 decision, justices on the highest US court found that the President had overstepped his powers when he introduced sweeping global tariffs last year using the IEEPA.

On Monday, Trump threatened to impose higher tariffs on countries that “play games” with recent trade deals, following the Supreme Court ruling.

His warning came as countries around the world said they were assessing what tariffs and trade deals would stand following the decision.

The UK said no reciprocal action was “off the table” if the US did not honor its tariff deal with the UK, but added that “no one wants a trade war”.

The European Union said it would suspend its ratification of a deal struck over the summer.

“If we get worse conditions then we need to react,” said the chair of the European Parliament’s delegations for relations with the US, Brando Benifei, adding that the EU had asked the US for clarity over the tariffs.

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