President Donald Trump’s new global tariffs took effect at 10 percent at midnight on Feb. 24 despite his weekend social media post stating he would raise them to 15 percent.
The Supreme Court ruled last week that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act—also known as IEEPA—did not grant him the power to impose tariffs on U.S. trading partners.
This decision overturned a large swath of import duties, particularly the reciprocal tariffs spotlighted in April 2025.
Shortly after the high court’s decision, the president unveiled across-the-board tariffs of 10 percent through a Feb. 20 presidential proclamation invoking Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. This measure authorizes new tariffs of up to 15 percent for 150 days to address “large and serious balance-of-payments deficits.” He will then need to seek congressional approval to extend these higher import duties.
Trump said in a weekend social media post that he would raise the global tariffs to 15 percent from 10 percent.
“I, as President of the United States of America, will be, effective immediately, raising the 10% Worldwide Tariff on Countries, many of which have been “ripping” the U.S. off for decades, without retribution (until I came along!), to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform Feb. 21.
“During the next short number of months, the Trump Administration will determine and issue the new and legally permissible Tariffs, which will continue our extraordinarily successful process of Making America Great Again.”
Hours before midnight Tuesday, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a memo to importers that the original 10 percent tariff would take effect on Feb. 24 for “imported articles of every country for a period of 150 days, unless specifically exempt.”
Trump has not yet issued a new directive to increase the global tariff to 15 percent after the social media post.
There are key exemptions to the global tariff, including USMCA-compliant goods, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals, and food imports. USMCA stands for United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Other elements of the tariff regime remain in place. These include 50 percent on aluminum, copper products, and steel; 25 percent on automobiles and furniture; and 10 percent on lumber.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed in a bulletin that tariffs implemented under IEEPA would no longer be collected after midnight on Feb. 24.
Adding to the uncertainty, the president warned on Feb. 23 that countries that choose to renege on trade agreements with the United States would face higher levies.
“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,” he said on Truth Social.
“Buyer beware!”
The threat came shortly before the European Parliament halted the ratification process of the U.S.-European Union trade deals. Officials say the 15 percent tariff violates provisions of the deal agreed to this past summer.
An increasing number of countries have confirmed they plan to assess the Supreme Court’s ruling.
White House officials stated that other countries have not backed away from their commitments. Instead, according to Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, foreign governments have reached out to the administration seeking clarity about the Supreme Court’s decision.
“We expect our partners to stand by them,” Greer said in an interview with CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Feb. 22. “I haven’t heard anyone yet come to me and say, ‘The deal is off.’”
Tariff Refund Confusion
Companies are still seeking confirmation of the state of their requests for tariff refunds.
Because of the court’s decision, many importers will likely file refund claims—dozens of companies already have since the summer.
The Penn Wharton Budget Model estimated that tariff refunds could total $175 billion.
Market watchers warn this could ignite short-term financing pressures for Washington.
“Even if processed gradually, this creates a new near-term financing need for the federal government,” Jeff Buchbinder, chief equity strategist, said in a note emailed to The Epoch Times. “Any meaningful issuance to bridge refund-related outflows would likely concentrate in the front end of the curve, steepening it modestly.”
Administration officials suggested that refunds would be delayed by litigation until the courts provide the federal government guidance.
“We need the court to tell us what to do. They’ve created a situation where they struck down the tariffs and gave zero guidance on this,” Greer said during a Feb. 22 appearance on ABC’s “This Week.”
“The Court of International Trade, which is a district-level U.S. court, my expectation is that they’ll have to step in and give some direction on how they want that to be done, if at all, whether plaintiffs had to have made the claim or not. We just need to have guidance from the court.”
Federal Express filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government on Feb. 23, seeking a “full refund” for the levies it paid last year.
“Plaintiffs seek for themselves a full refund from Defendants of all IEEPA duties Plaintiffs have paid to the United States,” the company said in an 11-page complaint.
FedEx joins a growing chorus of corporations racing to recover the billions in tariff payments.
Over the last several months, scores of businesses—from retail giant Costco to cosmetics titan Revlon—have pursued legal means to reclaim the money they paid to the federal government.
Victoria Friedman and Jill McLaughlin contributed to this report.
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