President Donald Trump’s revised global tariff will take effect at 10% beginning Tuesday, despite his weekend statement that the rate would immediately rise to 15%. The shift follows a Supreme Court decision that struck down most of his earlier tariff framework, prompting a rapid policy overhaul.
The reversal has renewed uncertainty among investors, trading partners, and U.S. businesses. Markets and foreign governments are now assessing how long the 10% rate will remain in place and whether the administration will move forward with a higher levy under a different legal authority.
The latest move comes days after the Supreme Court ruled that the administration had improperly used the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose sweeping tariffs last year. In response, Trump announced Friday that he would implement a 10% flat tariff on all trading partners using Section 122 of U.S. trade law, which allows tariffs of up to 15% for a period of 150 days.
Conflicting Signals on the Tariff Rate
On Saturday, Trump posted on Truth Social that he would be “raising the 10% Worldwide Tariff … to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level,” stating that the increase would be effective immediately. The message appeared to signal a swift escalation.
Yet hours before the tariff was scheduled to begin, U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued guidance to importers indicating that the rate would start at 10%. The agency stated that the tariff would apply to “every country for a period of 150 days, unless specifically exempt,” beginning at 12:01 a.m. ET Tuesday.
According to NBC News, a White House official confirmed that the notice to importers was accurate. The official said the global tariff would begin at 10%, while the administration works on a separate order to raise it to 15%, which would require the president’s signature. No timeline was provided for that potential increase.
Section 122, the statute now being used, permits tariffs of up to 15% but limits their duration to 150 days. That legal constraint appears to be shaping the administration’s immediate approach after the court’s ruling curtailed its broader authority under the earlier emergency powers law.
Renewed Uncertainty for Global Partners
The rapid shifts have revived concerns about policy unpredictability. According to NBC News, critics describe the situation as a return to the trade “chaos” that marked the early months of Trump’s second term.
Bernd Lange, a senior European Union lawmaker from Germany, wrote on X that the latest developments amounted to “pure tariff chaos from the U.S. administration,” adding that “No one can make sense of it anymore — only open questions and growing uncertainty.”
The European Union responded by freezing implementation of a major trade deal reached with the Trump administration last summer. Other countries, including India, China, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, are considering their next steps as they evaluate the implications of the new 10% tariff.
Most of the trade framework agreements negotiated since early last year were structured under the same emergency law that the Supreme Court invalidated. With that authority curtailed, the administration is now relying on narrower statutory tools, at least for the moment. For businesses and investors, the immediate question is not only the 10% rate that takes effect Tuesday, but whether a signed order will soon lift it to 15%, and how trading partners will respond in turn.
