Donald Trump said the 15% global tariff will be effective immediately

Trump raises global tariff rate on US imports to 15%

21 Feb 2026, 04:44 · RTE.ie

US President Donald Trump has said he will raise a temporary tariff from 10% to 15% on US imports from all countries, the maximum level allowed under the law, after the US Supreme Court struck down his previous tariff program.

The move came less than 24 hours after Mr Trump announced a 10% across-the-board tariff yesterday after the court's decision.

The ruling found the president had exceeded his authority when he imposed an array of higher rates under an economic emergency law.

The new levies are grounded in a separate but untested law, known as Section 122, that allows tariffs up to 15% but requires congressional approval to extend them after 150 days.

No president has previously invoked Section 122, and its use could lead to further legal challenges.

Trade experts and congressional aides are skeptical the Republican-majority Congress would extend the tariffs, given polls that show growing numbers of Americans blame the duties for higher prices.

In a post on Truth Social, President Trump called the Supreme Court's decision "ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American".

Mr Trump said the 15% tariff rate would be effective immediately.

He said that many countries have been "ripping" the US off for "decades, without retribution", and added that he was hiking the import levies "to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level".

"During the next short number of months, the Trump Administration will determine and issue the new and legally permissible Tariffs," he said.

According to a White House fact sheet, exemptions from the tariffs remain for sectors that are under separate probes, including pharma, and goods entering the US under the US-Mexico-Canada agreement.

It comes after a number of US Democrats demanded that Mr Trump issue refunds after the Supreme Court ruling.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker sent Mr Trump an invoice demanding nearly $9 billion in tariff refunds for families in his state.

Mr Pritzker urged the White House to "cut" the cheque after justices ruled 6-3 that Mr Trump had exceeded his authority by invoking emergency powers to impose tariffs that reshaped global trade and pushed up prices at home.

"Your tariff taxes wreaked havoc on farmers, enraged our allies and sent grocery prices through the roof," Mr Pritzker wrote, warning further legal action could follow if compensation was not forthcoming.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said 'every dollar' must be refunded from tariffs raised by US President Donald Trump

Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris said the "full consequences" of the US Supreme Court's decision "have yet to unfold" and that "we will need to work through them".

"From an economic perspective, those investing in our economy, in job creation and growth, and trading internationally, rightly seek certainty. Clearly there is again now a significant degree of uncertainty," he added.

He said the situation surrounding pharma products, which have been exempt from US tariffs, will continue to be monitored carefully.

Mr Harris added that Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Helen McEntee will be engaging with her European counterparts.

Newsom calls for tariff refunds

Yesterday, Mr Trump said he will impose a 10% global tariff for 150 days to replace some of his emergency duties that were struck down by the Supreme Court, before he raised the tariff level to 15% today.

In the letter, shared with US media, Govenor Pritzker demanded about $1,700 for every Illinois household, the amount Yale University experts said the average US household would pay on tariffs last year.

Mr Pritzker was not alone in seeking payback, both political and literal, for widespread consumer woes.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said the money Mr Trump's tariffs had raised came from US voters' pockets and should be refunded.

"Time to pay the piper, Donald. These tariffs were nothing more than an illegal cash grab that drove up prices and hurt working families, so you could wreck longstanding alliances and extort them," he said.

"Every dollar unlawfully taken must be refunded immediately, with interest. Cough up!"

Mr Pritzker and Mr Newsom are widely seen as potential Democratic contenders in the 2028 presidential race.

Announced with fanfare last April, Mr Trump's tariffs have raised more than $130 billion from importers, with a significant proportion of that extra cost passed on to consumers through higher prices.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has expressed scepticism that ordinary Americans will see direct compensation.

The scale of potential repayments is vast. The influential Penn-Wharton Budget Model has estimated that refunds could total $175 billion, though it is unclear who would ultimately receive the money.

Mr Trump himself acknowledged that any refund process could take years.

That is a harsh shift for those who may have hoped for a tariff "dividend" check after repeatedly said last year that millions of Americans would get "a little rebate" because "we have so much money coming in".

In his dissent, Trump-appointed conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh noted the ruling "says nothing ... about whether, and if so how, the government should go about returning the billions of dollars that it has collected from importers."

New York's Democratic governor Kathy Hochul called the Trump administration's tariffs "an unlawful backdoor tax on hardworking families, farmers and small businesses, raising prices on everything from groceries to building materials", though she did not demand refunds.