US President Donald Trump has warned countries against backing away from recently negotiated trade deals with the US after the Supreme Court struck down his emergency tariffs, saying that he would hit them with much higher duties under different trade laws.
Mr Trump, in a series of social media posts, said he also may impose license fees on trading partners as uncertainty over his next tariff moves gripped the global economy and sent stocks lower.
"Any Country that wants to 'play games' with the ridiculous supreme court decision, especially those that have 'Ripped Off' the U.S.A. for years, and even decades, will be met with a much higher Tariff, and worse, than that which they just recently agreed to. BUYER BEWARE!!!" Mr Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Mr Trump said that despite the court's decision to invalidate his tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, its decision affirmed his ability to use tariffs under other legal authorities "in a much more powerful and obnoxious way, with legal certainty, than the Tariffs as initially used".
He suggested that the US could impose new license fees on trading partners, but did not provide any details.
A spokesperson for the US Trade Representative's office did not immediately respond to a request for further comment on Mr Trump's plans.
It comes as European Parliament decided to postpone a vote on the European Union's trade deal with the US after Mr Trump imposed a new temporary import duty of 15% on imports from all countries.
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The European Union and United States clinched a deal in July last year that saw Washington impose 15% duties on most European goods, with exemptions for hundreds of food items, aircraft parts, critical minerals, pharmaceutical ingredients and other goods, while the EU would remove duties on many imports from the US, including industrial goods.
The European Parliament's trade committee had been due to vote tomorrow on removing tariffs on US industrial goods - a key step toward implementing Europe's side of the deal.
But parliament negotiators convened an urgent meeting today to decide whether to delay their green light, and politicians from the main political groups said they backed putting the deal on ice until it is clearer what the US ruling means.
Both politicians and the EU's executive are seeking to understand the impact for the bloc, with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer telling US media yesterday that deals with China, the EU and other partners will remain in force.
Olof Gill, spokesperson for the EU's Trade and Security Commissioner, said the EU will make a "mature assessment" on US tariff changes once it is understood precisely what the US intends to do now and what legal basis it intends to use.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Gill said there is a lot of uncertainty and instability in the US, but the EU needs to know what any changes will mean for tariffs and what product groups apply to.
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He said that EU colleagues had been in touch with their American counterparts over the weekend and other meetings will happen in the coming days.
"The US cannot fully account for what's happening or what precisely is coming next at this point in time. We are certainly not going to rush to judgement or decide on any next steps until that clarity is present," he stated.
He added that the EU will make a mature assessment on how the tariff changes relate to the agreement reached in Scotland last year and decide what to do then.
The EU has to allow the Americans get their house in order and say what they intend to do next, and the EU will make an assessment on that basis, he added.
The Supreme Court ruled Mr Trump does not have the authority to impose tariffs under a 1977 law he has relied on, triggering uncertainty compounded after the president reacted angrily with a new 15% global duty.
The new global duties are due to kick in tomorrow, with exemptions for some products. They will expire in 150 days unless Congress extends them.
China has urged the United States to cancel the unilateral tariffs, while several countries are studying the Supreme Court ruling and Trump's subsequent tariff announcements.
Better the deal you know?
After Friday's ruling, Mr Trump responded first with a new 10% global duty on imports under a different legal authority, before raising it to 15%.
Under the EU-US trade agreement, Washington had also agreed a blanket 15% tariff on most goods from the bloc, but his latest move could in reality see the EU face higher levies.
That is because the new duties would come on top of existing ones of a few percent, known as "most favoured nation" tariffs.
China: 'No winner in trade war'
The Supreme Court ruling was a stunning rebuke to Mr Trump from a judicial body that has largely sided with him since his return to office.
It marked a major political setback in striking down his signature economic policy that has roiled the global trade order.
China's commerce ministry said it was conducting a "comprehensive assessment" of the ruling's impact, and called on Washington to lift the tariffs.
"There are no winners in a trade war and protectionism leads nowhere."
China's foreign ministry also noted it was paying "close attention" to potential moves by the United States to maintain increased tariffs.
Beijing's warning comes weeks ahead of Mr Trump's planned visit to China, which would be his first in his second term.
Read more:
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Timeline of major developments in Trump's trade war
