Trump threatens ‘more powerful and obnoxious’ tariffs
Donald Trump has declared that he can use tariffs in a ‘much more powerful and obnoxious way’ than he has thus far.
Posting on his Truth Social network, the US president again attacked the supreme court for ruling against his sweeping global tariffs last Friday – calling them ‘incompetent’.
He also claims the justices have ‘‘accidentally and unwittingly’ expanded his presidential powers on tariffs.
Trump writes:
The supreme court (will be using lower case letters for a while based on a complete lack of respect!*) of the United States accidentally and unwittingly gave me, as President of the United States, far more powers and strength than I had prior to their ridiculous, dumb, and very internationally divisive ruling.
For one thing, I can use Licenses to do absolutely “terrible” things to foreign countries, especially those countries that have been RIPPING US OFF for many decades, but incomprehensibly, according to the ruling, can’t charge them a License fee – BUT ALL LICENSES CHARGE FEES, why can’t the United States do so? You do a license to get a fee! The opinion doesn’t explain that, but I know the answer! The court has also approved all other Tariffs, of which there are many, and they can all be used in a much more powerful and obnoxious way, with legal certainty, than the Tariffs as initially used.
Our incompetent supreme court did a great job for the wrong people, and for that they should be ashamed of themselves (but not the Great Three!).
[That’s a reference to the minority of three justices who backed Trump in last week’s ruling].
* – or perhaps he’s now following the Guardian style guide
Key events
Closing post
Time to wrap up….
Stocks are falling on Wall Street as last Friday’s rejection of Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs by the supreme court reverberates around global markets.
The main US share indices are solidly in the red, with the Dow Jones industrial average now down almost 850 points or 1.8% so far today.
Investors said Friday’s ruling that tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were unlawful had created fresh uncertainty, with Trump retaliating with a new 15% global tariff.
The US president has declared that he can use tariffs in a “much more powerful and obnoxious way”, as the UK and the EU sought urgent clarity on the US trade deals they struck last summer.
Trump threatened to ramp up his global tariff war on Monday, after a supreme court ruling last week that he had overstepped his legal authority to impose his “liberation day” measures last year.
Keir Starmer’s spokesperson said he did not expect Trump’s new 15% global tariff – announced on Saturday – to affect the “majority” of a UK-US economic deal that was agreed last year.
However, it is still not clear if the new tariffs, collected from Tuesday, will be at the 10% rate on most goods agreed last May, the 15% rate, or customs default to pre-reciprocal day tariffs.
Faced with this uncertainty, the European Parliament decided today to pause the ratification process relating to the US trade deal, helping to push markets lower.
Following that move, Trump warned that:
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.
Economists said that countries such as China, India and Brazil would benefit from the new 15% global tariff, as it was lower than their previous levies under IEEPA,
The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency said it would deactivate all tariff codes associated with International Emergency Economic Powers Act-related orders as of Tuesday at midnight (5am UK time).
A Bank of England policymaker warned that US tariffs are “here to stay” and could lead to shockwaves across the economy for “many years”,
Here’s the latest:
Full story: Stock markets stumble as global trade faces more Trump tariff uncertainty
Kalyeena Makortoff
Stock markets stumbled on Monday as Donald Trump pushed ahead with fresh tariffs on the US’s trading partners despite a supreme court strike-down and growing opposition from domestic voters.
Uncertainty over the status of global trade deals spooked investors, trigging a drop in US shares prices including on the Dow Jones industrial average, which tumbled 1.4% in morning trading. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 also fell 0.9% and 1.1%, following losses for UK and European stock markets.
Shareholders were struggling to discern the next steps in Trump’s global trade war, after the US supreme court ruled on Friday that the president overstepped his legal authority by using emergency measures to impose tariffs on countries across the world last year.
But Trump went on to announce over the weekend that he would push ahead and impose temporary tariffs on US imports from all countries: first declaring a 10% rate, before hiking that figure to 15%, under a never-before-used section of the Trade Act of 1974.
Lisa O’Carroll
What could Donald Trump’s have in mind when he threatens new “obnoxious” tariffs?
Grave Zwemmer, US economist with Oxford Economics, said Trump could impose limitless”punitive” tariffs on any country under section 301 of the Trade Act which could last four years.
But if he chose this route to maintain tariffs it would not happen overnight and his existing threat of using section 122 would only be a temporary measure.
She says:
“While there are no limits on how high the tariff rates can be, implementation requires an investigation by the US Trade Representative, which must find evidence of discriminatory or illegal trade practices by the country in question.
There’s no break in the selling on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is now down 771 points, or 1.55%, today at 48,854 points.
Investors are continuing to react badly to the trade war uncertainty, and president Trump’s threat of new ‘more powerful and obnoxious’ tariffs…..
European market close
European stock markets have closed, with losses in Frankfurt and Paris.
Fears that Europe’s trade deal with the US is threatened by Donald Trump’s new 15% tariff wiped over 1% off Germany’s DAX index today.
France’s CAC lost 0.22%.
In London, though, the FTSE 100 has closed almost flat, supported by gains among precious metals producers and defensive stocks such as tobacco firms and utilities.
Danni Hewson, AJ Bell head of financial analysis, sums up the day:
“Investors have come to expect chopping and changing from the current US president, but the present tariff turmoil makes charting the course ahead even more impossible than it already was, which makes it no surprise that the safe haven allure of gold has been back in play.
“How will current trade deals fit into the new framework? Will ‘Plan B’ require sign off from Congress or will Donald Trump’s administration be able to keep reapplying the new tariffs every 150 days? What about the billions that have flowed into US coffers over the past months. Will that have to be paid back?
“Whilst bigger businesses have the capacity and cash flow to weather this fresh storm front, smaller companies will be feeling rather weary and some will struggle to come up with their own Plan B.
Gold is continuing to rally, amid the scramble for safe assets.
Bullion is now up 2% today at $5,209 an ounce.
Here’s Joe Mazzola, head trading & derivatives strategist at Charles Schwab, on today’s Wall Street losses:
“Tariff uncertainty reigned this morning, pushing stocks to early losses and raising volatility on Wall Street.
Investors kept buzzing over the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision Friday to overturn President Trump’s trade barriers, which threw world trade into confusion and raised questions about the durability of trade deals struck under auspices of the tariff regime.”
US told in G7 trade meeting to treat Europe fairly, France says
G7 countries have urged the US to ensure they give European countries fair treatment, following the supreme court ruling on tariffs on Friday, France’s trade ministry has revealed.
Afterr hosting an online meeting of G7 trade representatives today, an official from France’s trade minister’s office says:
“The Europeans must be treated fairly as partners and companies need visibility.”
The Russell 2000 index, which tracks two thousand small US company stocks, has dropped by 1.8%.
BritishAmerican Business (BAB), the transatlantic trade organization, is concerned that UK businesses will be hit by higher tariffs once Trump’s new global tariff of 15% kicks in tomorrow.
BritishAmerican Business CEO Duncan Edwards says:
“The new 15 per cent tariff on imports into the US, imposed under section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act means an effective 50 per cent increase in the tariff rate for most UK exporters to the USA which will come into effect tomorrow.
“This is clearly disappointing news and begs important questions which the UK team will need to raise with their opposite numbers and for which businesses will be hoping for answers.
“First, will the UK be granted a ‘discounted’ 10 per cent tariff under this new Executive Order in line with the Economic Prosperity Deal? Second, will UK exporters be able to claim back tariffs that have been previously paid and how will that process work?
And third, what will happen when the 150 day period allowed by the Act expires?
“It seems to us that the answer to the third point now lies with Congress which will have to decide whether the trade policies promised by this administration during the election become enshrined in law. Given the narrow margins in both houses of Congress a definitive answer looks unlikely, so business would be wise to expect continued uncertainty.”
Avatrade: Tariff changes have made markets wobbly
Kate Leaman, chief market analyst at AvaTrade, says:
“The Supreme Court’s decision last week to block President Trump’s big emergency tariffs gave markets a quick lift, but his fast follow-up, has markets wobbly again today.
“Trump bumped this from a 10% blanket tariff, skipping some energy and minerals but nailing most imports. It’s spooked the EU into pausing deals and India into delays. US companies buying abroad, in tech, factories and gadgets, face fresh cost squeezes – though milder than before.
“This isn’t a permanent end to trade disputes. The workaround lasts a maximum of 150 days, after which Congress will weigh in. Investors should expect further ups and downs ahead.”
UK and US government bond prices are rising, as investors shun shares in favour of safer assets.
This has pushed down the interest rate, or yield, on UK 10-year bonds to their lowest level since December 2024.
It’s a small move – 10-year bond yields are down less three basis points (0.03 percentage points) to 4.327%, but the US government will certainly welcome this, as it shows the cost of issuing bonds and servicing the national debt has fallen.
DJIA down almost 700 points
The US stock market is sliding nearly as fast as a British Winter Olympic skeleton racer.
The Dow Jones industrial average is now down 681 points, or -1.37%, at 48,944 points, after an hour of trading, as traders react to the uncertainty over US tariffs and the threats emerging on Donald Trump’s Truth Social account.
Twenty one of the thirty stocks on the index are down, led by American Express (-6.2%), Salesforce (-5.3%) and Nike (4.9%).
