Barely 24 hours after responding to the repeal of his “reciprocal” tariffs and a retaliatory 10% global tariff, President Donald Trump increased the damages to 15%.
On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that the blanket tariffs imposed by President Trump were done illegally. While Trump’s retaliation was expected, it appears he did not believe he had gone far enough with his new tariff plan.
Trump on Friday imposed a new global import tariff of 10% under Section 122, which is subject to rules, including that the rate be uniform, not country-specific, and for a limited period of up to 150 days unless Congress extends the period. However, Section 122 authorized temporary rates of up to 15%, higher than the 10% rate set by the President.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, Trump wrote that, effective immediately, the 10% rate would instead become the fully authorized level of 15%. CNN. He added that the administration would work to issue new and “legally permissible” tariffs in the “next few months.”
Trump is believed to be trying to achieve the same effect as the previously repealed tariff, but in a way that would be more difficult to remove.
The tariff increase followed a “thorough, detailed and complete review of the ridiculous, poorly written and extremely anti-American decision,” Trump wrote in a social media post.
While the original 10% tariff level was set to begin at 12:01 a.m. ET on Tuesday, it is unclear if the 15% version will occur at that time.
Another pain for Apple
As always with rate hikes, it’s certain that Apple will be hit in some way. It should have already been penalized like every other company in the United States under 10%, but with the new rate it’s half as bad again.
At a 10% rate, Apple would have to pay about four times what it paid in tariffs in February 2025. Under 15%, that’s up to six times the rate.
However, the way the tariff is applied to imports limits the overall damage to Apple’s bottom line. Because global import tariffs prohibit country-by-country access, they cannot be used to raise tariff levels in specific countries, such as Apple’s main supply chain locations in China, India or Vietnam.
It’s certainly a far cry from the 145% tariff that was once levied against China. But it’s still an import tax that Apple has to deal with.