Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump declared that his administration will introduce "different tariffs" on "different countries" following a Supreme Court decision that nullified country-specific "reciprocal" tariffs on trading partners, including South Korea, last month. Trump made the announcement during a press briefing with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House, as his team endeavors to replace the invalidated tariffs to sustain his tariff policy in light of the ruling.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Supreme Court ruled on February 20 against Trump's application of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to justify reciprocal tariffs and other duties. This ruling upheld a lower court's decision that the IEEPA did not grant the president authority to impose such levies. In response, Trump indicated that his administration has up to five months to impose a temporary 15 percent tariff under Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act while conducting necessary studies to develop a new tariff structure.
Beginning February 24, the Trump administration implemented a 10 percent global tariff under Section 122, with Trump warning of a possible increase to 15 percent. In parallel, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced plans for trade investigations under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act. Greer noted that these investigations would likely encompass "most major trading partners," as Section 301 permits the USTR to examine "unfair" trade practices on a per-country basis.