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

WASHINGTON - US 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 that he would hit them with much higher duties under different trade laws.

Mr Trump, in a series of social media posts, said he also may impose license 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, its decision 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 license fees on trading partners, but did not provide any details.

A spokesperson for the US Trade Representative’s office did not immediately respond to a request for further comment on Mr rump’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 import duty of 15 per cent

on imports from all countries.

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

Mr Trump on Feb 20 initially announced the temporary duty 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 duty is set to take effect at 12.01am EST (0501 GMT) on Feb 24.

At that same moment, the US Customs and Border Protection agency 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 fell 0.65 per cent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also was down 0.65 per cent in mid-morning trade.

The U.S. dollar index fell 0.2 per cent against major currencies.

The path forward for Mr Trump’s foreign trade deals remained uncertain, with

China urging Washington to scrap tariff measures

, the EU freeze on its approval and India delaying planned talks.

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

Mr Trump used his social media post to again lash out against the justices who ruled against him, which included two who 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 power to check the power of the president.

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