Trump warns other countries they ‘won’t be dancing for long’ as he slaps a 10 per cent global levy on the USA’s trade partners after judges ruled his original tariff regime was unlawful
Donald Trump reacted angrily last night after US judges rejected his ‘nice’ tariff plan but warned celebrants they ‘won’t be dancing for long’.
In a decision that could have major consequences for world trade, the Supreme Court said President Trump exceeded his authority by imposing ‘Emancipation Day’ tariffs without Congressional approval last year.
Mr Trump said he was ’embarrassed’ by the decision and added that America’s highest court was ‘guided by foreign interests’. But he promised to find another way to maintain tariffs.
Speaking at an emergency press conference at the White House last night, Mr Trump said the judges who rejected his plan were ‘a disgrace to our country’.
However, he stated that he was already working on ‘alternative’ methods to protect US industry and said, ‘there are even stronger methods available to me.’
“Foreign countries that have been ripping us off for years were stunned by the court’s decision,” he said.
Giving a clear warning, he added: ‘They are dancing in the streets, but they won’t be dancing for long.’
Mr Trump said he would immediately impose a ’10 per cent global tariff on top of existing tariffs’, among other protectionist measures.
President Trump holds a billboard displaying mutual tariffs for countries on his self-proclaimed ‘Emancipation Day’ in April last year
Trump said at an emergency press conference at the White House on Friday that he was “embarrassed” by the Supreme Court decision, adding that America’s highest court was “guided by foreign interests.”
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Some experts have claimed that the US may now have to refund more than £130bn to firms that paid tariffs following Independence Day in April last year. But Mr. Trump has indicated he is prepared to fight any claims for damages in the courts for years.
The decision only affects ‘reciprocal’ tariffs imposed on individual countries, including a 10 per cent duty on imports from Britain. It will not affect targeted tariffs on non-expandable sectors such as steel and autos.
Downing Street was last night scrambling to calculate the likely impact on trade and relations.
A Government spokesman said: ‘The UK enjoys the lowest reciprocal tariffs globally and we expect it to maintain our privileged trading position with the US in any scenario. ‘We will work with the US administration to understand how the decision will affect tariffs on the UK and the rest of the world.’
Last night Kemi Badenoch welcomed the decision, saying tariffs were ‘bad for both sides’.
The Tory leader, who served as trade minister in the last government, said: ‘The UK is a trading nation. So overall this is good news for us. We hope it holds.’
Mr Trump’s tariffs stunned world leaders last year, throwing global markets into turmoil as he claimed the US economy had been ‘plundered, plundered and raped’ for years.
However, the Supreme Court, which has a conservative majority, ruled yesterday by a vote of six to three that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which introduced general measures, ‘does not give the President the authority to impose tariffs’.
ING analysts Carsten Brzeski and Julian Geib warned that US tariffs are ‘permanent’ but have ‘new legal foundations and a complex transition period’.
They added: ‘Europe should not be mistaken, this decision will not bring relief.’
