Donald Trump s new tariff comes into effect at lower than expected rate

US President Donald Trump’s new global tariffs have started at a rate of 10%, which is lower than he initially promised. After the Supreme Court stopped many of his broad import taxes on Friday, Trump announced a 10% global tariff. He later mentioned on Saturday that it would be 15%. However, official documents show that the tariffs will remain at the lower rate starting Tuesday, with no orders to raise it. The BBC has reached out to the White House for a response. Carsten Brzeski, an analyst at ING investment bank, commented, “I think it simply adds to the chaos and mess,” highlighting the rapid changes in tariffs and their impact on businesses. He noted that uncertainty has returned to last year's levels and warned that US trading partners might retaliate. “The risk of a real, fully-fledged trade war is clearly higher than last year,” he stated on the BBC’s Today programme. An executive order signed by Trump on Friday indicated that the temporary 10% import duty aims to “address fundamental international payments problems and continue the Administration’s work to rebalance our trade relationships to benefit American workers, farmers, and manufacturers.” The government is enforcing this charge under Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act, which allows the president to impose it for 150 days without needing approval from Congress. Trump believes that tariffs are essential to lower America’s trade deficit, which is the gap between imports and exports. However, the trade deficit hit a new record last week, increasing by 2.1% compared to 2024 and reaching about $1.2 trillion (£890bn).