President Donald Trump has raised the global duty on imports into the United States to 15%, doubling down on his aggressive tariff policy a day after the Supreme Court ruled much of it illegal.
Trump announced on his Truth Social platform on Saturday that after a thorough review of Friday’s “extraordinarily anti-American decision” by the court, the administration was hiking import levies “to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level”.
The move comes just hours after the court’s 6-3 ruling rejected the president’s authority to impose tariffs under a 1977 economic emergency powers act. Trump had initially announced a new 10% global levy by invoking a different legal avenue.
At the same time, the Republican launched an extraordinary personal attack on the conservative justices who sided with the majority, slamming their “disloyalty” and calling them “fools and lap dogs”.
The ruling marked a stunning rebuke by the high court, which has largely sided with the president since he returned to office, and represented a major political setback in striking down Trump’s signature economic policy that has roiled the global trade order.
South African concerns mount
The 15% global tariff announcement adds another layer of uncertainty for South African exporters already grappling with loss of preferential access to the US market. Although South Africa supplies only about 0,2% of US imports, the American market has been crucial for certain sectors, particularly automotive and horticultural exports.
The Democratic Alliance has warned that the Supreme Court’s decision offers only temporary relief for South African exporters, and called on Trade, Industry and Competition Minister Parks Tau to urgently secure a lasting trade deal with Washington.
Toby Chance, the DA’s spokesperson on trade, industry and competition, said on Sunday that whilst the repeal of tariffs instituted under the US International Emergency Economic Powers Act was welcome news for exporters, particularly in agriculture, the relief was “both temporary and specific”.
“Our automotive sector will continue to face high tariffs under US Section 232, and we must prepare for higher tariffs to be reimposed this year,” Chance said. “President Trump has already decided to impose a global 15% baseline tariff, and could seek to impose further country-based tariffs through Section 301.”
Chance noted that AGOA’s renewal is set to expire in September this year, adding further urgency to the situation.
“Minister Tau cannot treat the tariff repeal as mission accomplished. He has a window of opportunity to repair our trade relations with the United States, and must secure a deal that secures the livelihoods of factory workers from Kariega to Tshwane, and farmhands from Citrusdal to Tzaneen,” he said.
The DA spokesperson said the ANC would “have to give up its ideological preferences for aligning South African policy with rogue regimes rather than in our national interest, and inflexibility on non-tariff barriers”.
Chance called for improved trade relations on the African continent and with other partners, noting that Agriculture Minister John Steenhuisen had opened new markets for South African agricultural exports, allowing exporters to have their best year on record in 2025.
Global uncertainty deepens
Saturday’s announcement is the latest move in a process that has seen a multitude of tariff levels for countries sending goods into the United States set and then altered or revoked by Trump’s team over the past year.
Several countries have said they are studying the Supreme Court ruling and Trump’s subsequent tariff announcements.
Brazil’s president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Sunday urged Trump to treat all countries equally.
“I want to tell the US president Donald Trump that we don’t want a new Cold War. We don’t want interference in any other country, we want all countries to be treated equally,” Lula told reporters in New Delhi.
German chancellor Friedrich Merz said Saturday he would hold talks with European allies to formulate “a very clear European position” and joint response to Washington before he travels to the US capital in early March.
On the domestic front, Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said on X it was time for Trump to “listen to the Supreme Court, end chaotic tariffs, and stop wreaking havoc on our farmers, small business owners, and families”.
The new duty by law is only temporary – allowable for 150 days. According to a White House fact sheet, exemptions remain for sectors that are under separate probes, including pharmaceuticals, and goods entering the US under the US-Mexico-Canada agreement.
On Friday, the White House said US trading partners that reached separate tariff deals with Trump’s administration would also face the new global tariff.
High court defeat
Friday’s court ruling did not impact sector-specific duties Trump separately imposed on steel, aluminium and various other goods. Government probes still underway could lead to additional sectoral tariffs.
But it nevertheless marked Trump’s biggest defeat at the Supreme Court since returning to the White House 13 months ago. The court has generally expanded his power.
Trump heaped praise on the conservative justices who voted to uphold his authority to levy tariffs – Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh, a Trump nominee – thanking them “for their strength and wisdom, and love of our country”.
The president alleged the majority of six justices, including two nominated during his first term, had been “swayed by foreign interests”.
“I think that foreign interests are represented by people that I believe have undue influence,” he said.
Shares on Wall Street – a metric closely watched by Trump – rose modestly Friday after the decision, which had been expected.
Business groups largely cheered the ruling, with the National Retail Federation saying this “provides much-needed certainty” for companies.
In court arguments, the Trump administration said companies would receive refunds if the tariffs were deemed unlawful. But the Supreme Court’s ruling did not address the issue.
Trump said he expected years of litigation on whether to provide refunds. Kavanaugh noted the refund process could be a “mess”.
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