Trump warns countries that ‘play games’ with US trade deals will face higher tariffs

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Feb 23 warned countries against backing away from recently negotiated trade deals with the US after the Supreme Court struck down his emergency tariffs, saying he would hit them with much higher tariffs under other trade laws.

Mr Trump, in a series of social media posts, said he might also impose licence fees on trading partners, as uncertainty over his next tariff moves gripped the global economy and sent stocks lower.

“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. BUYER BEWARE!!!” Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Mr Trump said that despite the court’s decision to invalidate his tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the ruling affirmed his ability to use tariffs under other legal authorities “in a much more powerful and obnoxious way, with legal certainty, than the Tariffs as initially used”.

He suggested that the US could impose new licence fees on trading partners but provided no further details.

A spokesperson for the US Trade Representative’s office did not immediately respond to a request for further comment on Mr Trump’s plans.

In Brussels, the European Parliament decided on Feb 23 to postpone a vote on the European Union’s trade deal with the US after Mr Trump imposed a new temporary tariff of 15 per cent on all foreign imports.

Under the deal, EU goods would face a 15 per cent US tariff, with exemptions for hundreds of food items, aircraft parts, critical minerals, pharmaceutical ingredients and other products, while the EU would remove duties on many imports from the US, including industrial goods.

Mr Trump initially announced on Feb 20 the temporary tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 at 10 per cent, but raised it to 15 per cent – the maximum allowed under the statute – on Feb 21.

The new tariff is set to take effect on Feb 24 at 12.01am (1.01pm Singapore time).

At that same moment, US Customs and Border Protection said it would stop collecting the now-illegal IEEPA duties, more than three days after the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Uncertainty unnverves markets

Wall Street stocks fell in early trade on Feb 23, as renewed tariff uncertainty in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling unnerved investors.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.34 per cent. The S&P 500 slid 0.65 per cent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was also down 0.65 per cent in mid-morning trade.

The US dollar index weakened 0.2 per cent against major currencies.

The path forward for Mr Trump’s foreign trade deals remains uncertain, with China urging Washington to scrap tariff measures, the EU freezing its approval, and India delaying planned talks.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said over the weekend that the Trump administration expected to open new Section 301 unfair trade practices investigations into several countries, a legal step that would allow it to threaten new tariffs.

Mr Trump took to social media to again lash out at the justices who ruled against him, including two he had appointed during his first term in the White House.

In its ruling, authored by conservative Chief Justice John Roberts, the court reasserted its authority to check the powers of the president.

Mr Trump also expressed concern that the top court could rule against his administration’s bid to restrict birthright citizenship in the case’s forthcoming decision. REUTERS