Trump Says He Will Raise Global Tariffs to 15 Percent
The move signaled that the president would press ahead with steep global import taxes despite the legal setback from the Supreme Court
February 21, 2026
"President Trump said on Saturday that he would raise his new, global tariff to 15 percent, a day after he took steps to replicate some of the punishing duties that had been struck down by the Supreme Court.
Mr. Trump announced the sudden change in a post on social media, and said the policy would take effect immediately, as he signaled that he would press ahead with his aggressive trade strategy despite suffering a major legal setback.
For some countries, such as Britain and Australia, Mr. Trump’s new 15 percent tariff will actually be higher than the rates that previously applied to their exports to the United States. For others, like China, Vietnam, India and Brazil, the new rate will be significantly lower. The previous set of duties were invalidated on Friday, after a majority of the court’s justices found that the president did not have the authority to issue them.
Mr. Trump had initially set his replacement global rate at 10 percent, using a provision in a law — never before invoked by a president — that allows him to impose an across-the-board tariff for 150 days unless Congress agrees to extend it. In the directive, he indicated it would take effect after midnight on February 24.
The statute caps the rate at 15 percent, limiting the president’s ability to lift it again, though Mr. Trump has signaled he plans to use other trade powers in the coming months to add further taxes on imports.
“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,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
“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 — GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE!!!” he continued.
Some White House staff members were caught off guard by the increase, people familiar with the matter said. It came less than 24 hours after the president had announced his 10 percent rate. Since the decision, Mr. Trump has railed angrily against the Supreme Court justices who ruled against his tariffs and threatened to impose even bigger duties against the world." Read More
