US President Donald Trump signs order for global 10% tariff on all countries

Washington DC: US President Donald Trump on Friday signed an executive order imposing a 10 per cent global tariff on imports from all countries, effective almost immediately. Announcing the move on Truth Social, Trump called it a "Great Honour" to implement the sweeping tariff from the Oval Office.

A White House official said the tariff would remain in place until another legal authority is invoked and stressed that US trade partners are expected to adhere to existing trade agreements. The measure forms part of Trump's broader protectionist trade agenda aimed at addressing balance-of-payments deficits and what he has described as unfair trade practices.

The announcement came shortly after a major legal setback at the Supreme Court of the United States. In a 6-3 ruling, the court held that the administration had exceeded its authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose broad-based import tariffs. The majority opinion, led by Chief Justice John Roberts and joined by Justices Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, and the court's three liberal justices, concluded that IEEPA does not explicitly grant the president the power to levy duties - a constitutional authority assigned to Congress.

Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, and Brett Kavanaugh dissented, backing a broader interpretation of presidential emergency powers.

The ruling invalidated billions of dollars in "reciprocal" and emergency tariffs and could require the government to refund an estimated $130 billion to $175 billion in collected revenue.

Calling the verdict a "terrible" and "ludicrous" decision, Trump said he would instead invoke Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows a temporary import surcharge of up to 15 percent for 150 days to address balance-of-payments issues. He confirmed that existing national security tariffs under Section 232 and Section 301 would remain in place.

Trump also said alternative measures would be used to maintain tariff revenues and insisted that foreign countries would not benefit for long. He added that "the India deal is on," indicating that recent bilateral trade arrangements, including reduced reciprocal tariffs to 18 per cent, would continue under the new legal framework. (ANI)

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