President Donald Trump said Saturday that he wants a global tariff of 15%, up from 10% he’d announced a day earlier after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down many of the far-reaching taxes on imports that he had imposed over the last year.
The court’s Friday decision struck down tariffs Trump had imposed on nearly every country using an emergency powers law. Trump now said he’ll use a different, albeit more limited, legal authority.
He’s already signed an executive order enabling him to bypass Congress and impose a 10% tax on imports from around the world, starting Tuesday, the same day as his State of the Union speech.
But those tariffs are limited to 150 days unless extended by legislation.
Trump’s announcement on social media was the latest sign that, despite the court’s rare check on his powers, the Republican president won’t let go of his favorite tool for rewriting the rules of global commerce and applying international pressure.
Here’s the latest:
Trump’s big speech will be delivered to a changed nation and a Congress he’s sidelined
President Trump will stand before Congress on Tuesday to deliver the annual State of the Union address to a transformed nation.
One year back in office, Trump has emerged as a president defying conventional expectations. He’s executed a head-spinning agenda, upending priorities at home, shattering alliances abroad and challenging the nation’s foundational system of checks and balances. Two Americans were killed by federal agents while protesting the Trump administration’s immigration raids and mass deportations.
As the lawmakers sit in the House chamber listening to Trump’s agenda for the year ahead, the moment is an existential one for the Congress, which has essentially become sidelined by his expansive reach, the Republican president bypassing his slim GOP majority to amass enormous power for himself.
Rubio heads to Caribbean to reassert US interests after Venezuela strikes
Secretary of State Marco Rubio travels to the Caribbean island of St. Kitts and Nevis this week to reassert the Trump administration’s interests in the Western Hemisphere just a month after the U.S. military operation that removed former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
With the eyes of much of the world on the U.S military buildup in the Middle East and President Donald Trump’s threats to attack Iran, Rubio will make a one-day visit to St. Kitts on Wednesday to participate in a summit of leaders from the Caribbean Community, the State Department said.
Trump’s action against Maduro coupled with an increasingly aggressive posture aimed at eliminating drug trafficking and illegal migration have proven a concern for many in the region although they’ve also won support from many smaller states.
In numerous group and bilateral meetings, Rubio intends to discuss ways to promote regional security and stability, trade and economic growth.
