Trump announces 15 percent global tariff

US President Donald Trump has increased tariffs again. After the country's Supreme Court declared his order illegal, he immediately re-imposed a 10 percent counter-tariff.

He did not stand by that decision either. He increased it by another 5 percent to 15 percent and said that it would take effect immediately on imports worldwide.

On Friday, the US Supreme Court declared Trump's tariffs illegal. Angry at that decision, he re-imposed the tariffs. He immediately increased the global tariff to 10 percent. This time, it increased it to 15 percent.

The decision was made after a Supreme Court ruling, in which his previous global tariff imposition was declared illegal under the 'International Emergency Economic Powers Act'. Trump expressed deep disappointment in the Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling and criticized Republican-appointed judges for not supporting his policy.

He said his administration would now use the Trade Act of 1974 to enforce the new tariffs. Under the 1974 Trade Act, a maximum 15 percent tariff can be in effect for 150 days without congressional approval.

Earlier on Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump's global tariff hike was illegal. The court ruled that Trump violated federal law by unilaterally imposing sweeping tariffs around the world.

It was a major defeat for the White House, as the issue was at the heart of the president's foreign policy and economic plans. At the same time, it was perhaps the most important defeat for the Trump administration on the conservative Supreme Court. Yet last year, the same court repeatedly sided with President Trump on a series of emergency orders on immigration, firing independent agency heads and cutting government spending.

The majority opinion of the court, which was written by a ratio of 6-3, said that the tariff hike exceeded the limits of the law. But the court did not say what it would do about the more than $130 billion in tariffs already collected.

For the court, Roberts wrote that President Trump claims extraordinary power to unilaterally impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration, and scope. Given the scope, history, and constitutional context of this claimed power, he must demonstrate express congressional authorization to exercise it. The court said the emergency powers Trump sought to rely on were “insufficient.”

Among the justices, Amy Coney Barrett, Neil Gorsuch, and three other liberal justices joined Roberts in the majority opinion. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Brett Kavanaugh dissented.

In his opinion, Roberts rejected the administration’s argument that the president has the power to use tariffs to regulate trade. The issue came to the fore during last year’s oral arguments when Trump suggested that the president has the inherent power to impose tariffs.

Roberts wrote, “When Congress grants the power to impose tariffs, it does so with clear and careful limitations. In this case, they have done neither.”

Roberts also wrote, “We do not claim any special expertise in economics or foreign affairs. We are simply fulfilling the limited role assigned to us by Article III of the Constitution. In fulfilling that role, we conclude that the IEEPA does not give the president the power to impose tariffs.”

Anadolu Agency reported.