Trump said the latest duties are effectively a harder-to-implement version of tariff measures previously struck down, while also signaling he would prefer leaving USMCA to renegotiating it.
President Donald Trump said newly imposed U.S. tariffs would not damage the economy and described the latest measures as functionally similar to earlier tariff actions that were struck down by the Supreme Court. The administration on Friday imposed tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on goods from more than 80 countries, saying those trading partners had failed to effectively prohibit the use of forced labor. The duties took effect as a temporary worldwide 10% tariff announced on Feb. 20 reached its 150-day limit and expired. In a Fox News interview on Tuesday, Trump said he had to pursue a "harder way" after the Supreme Court, in what he called a close decision, ruled against him on prior tariffs. His remarks came days after a federal lawsuit alleged that the administration was using different statutes as a pretext to recreate the broader global tariff regime that had already failed in court. A senior administration official said the timing of the new forced-labor tariffs was chosen to avoid complexity and not to replace the earlier measures. Trump also said he would rather have the United States leave the USMCA trade pact with Canada and Mexico than renegotiate it, after the U.S. decided this month not to renew the agreement. He dismissed concerns that tariffs, which are taxes on imported goods, could hurt the economy and said they had made the country "a fortune."