Donald Trump’s new worldwide tariff on imports to America went into effect yesterday afternoon – at 10 per cent, not 15 per cent as threatened – as the US president vowed to retaliate against any country that “played games”, and belittled the Supreme Court on social media.
The new tariff came as transport and logistics giant FedEx sued the Trump administration for “a full refund” of the tariffs Trump had imposed using emergency powers, which were ruled unlawful by the nation’s highest court last week.
A US Customs and Border Protection bulletin issued on Monday evening (Washington time) said the new global tariff would be collected from midnight (4pm AEDT) at a rate of 10 per cent – the level Trump initially announced after the court’s bombshell decision. A separate notice confirmed that the collection of the old duties would cease at the same time.
Despite Trump posting on social media the day after the court ruling that he would “immediately” lift the rate to 15 per cent, the text of his proclamation was not changed or reissued. It means that, for now, Australian exports to the US will attract essentially the same tariff as before the court ruling.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said the government will continue to make its case against tariffs on Australian goods: “We repeat our view that these tariffs are unfair.”
