New U.S. import tariffs come in at 10% rate
By: David Lawder
Reuters
WASHINGTON - The United States began collecting a temporary new 10% global import tariff on February 24 [2026] but the Trump administration was working to increase it to 15%, a White House official said, sowing confusion over President Donald Trump's tariff policies in the wake of last week's [02/20/2026] Supreme Court defeat.
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Trump initially signed an order on February 20 [2026] for a 10% tariff to last 150 days to replace broad duties under an emergency law that were struck down by the supreme Court, but on February 21, [2026] he said he would increase there rate to 15%.
..... On February 23, [2026] before the midnight start of collections, the U.S. customs and Border Protection agency notified shippers the rate would be 10%.
..... The White House officials told Reuters that Trump has had "no change of heart" in his desire for a 15% tariff under Section 122 of the Trade act of 1974, but offered no details on the timing for that increase.
..... CBP's notice referred to his February 20 [2026] order, saying that aside form products covered by exemptions, imports would "be subject an additional ad valorem rate of 10%."
..... The move added to confusion surrounding U.S. trade policy with no explanation offered in the notice for why the lower rate had been used.
..... "Remember that Trump is delivering the State of the Union address tonight, [02/24/2026]
so it's possible we might get a better sense of the next steps on tariffs,: Deutsche Bank said in a note. "Net-net we still think the effective tariff rate will fall this year [2026] and that the world post-SCOTUS will see lower tariffs than the pre-SCOTUS world," its analysts said, using the acronym for the Supreme Court of the United States.
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The new tariffs took effect at midnight on February 23, [2026] while collection of the tariffs annulled by the Supreme Court was halted. They had ranged from 10% to as much as 50%.
..... The Section 122 law allows the president to impose the new duties for up to 150 days to address "large and serious" balance-of-payments deficits and "fundamental international payments problems." Trump's tariff order argued that a serious balance-of-payment deficit existed in the form of a $1.2 trillion annual U.S. goods trade deficit, a current account deficit of 4% of GDP and a reversal of the U.S. primary income surplus.
..... But some economists and trade lawyers argue that the United States is not on the cusp of a balance-of-payments crisis, making the new duties vulnerable to a legal challenge.
..... On February 23, [2026] Trump warned countries against backing away from any previously negotiated trade deals with the United States, warning he would hit them with much higher duties under different laws. Japan said it had asked the United States to ensure its treatment under a new tariff regime would be as favorable as in an existing agreement. The European Union, United Kingdoms and Taiwan all indicated a preference to stick to their deals too.
..... China urged Washington to abandon its "unilateral tariffs," indicating it was willing to hold another round of trade talks with the world's largest economy, the country's commerce ministry said in a statement on February 24. [2026]