The order would be issued under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, Trump said, adding that the new duties could apply on top of existing tariffs.
The provision allows the president to impose tariffs as high as 15% for as long as 150 days on any country, in response to “large and serious” balance of payments problems. It does not require an investigation or other procedural steps.
Trump also noted on Friday that he will invoke separate authority under Section 301 to initiate investigations into unfair trade practices, a process that not only could take several months to complete, but could ultimately yield additional tariffs.
The announcement came just hours after the Supreme Court ruled that Trump has acted illegally in unilaterally imposing sweeping global tariffs under the supposed authority of the country’s International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
“There was always the notion that [implementing the IEEPA tariffs] was a risk, that the administration was taking a risk with expanding the mandate at a scale that’s never been done before,” Samir Kapadia, managing principal of the Vogel Group, told Fastmarkets in an interview on Friday.
The Supreme Court ruling held that only the US Congress, not the president, has the power to impose taxes, with trade sources saying that some market participants were caught off-guard by the decision.
