US President Donald Trump is now using alternative legal routes to levy tariffs, but critics say his authority to impose them is still limited.
United States President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that he is raising the 10% global tariff rate announced on Friday to 15%, which will take effect immediately.
Trump reiterated his criticism of the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down his authority to levy tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). In a Saturday Truth Social post, he said:
“As President of the United States of America, I will be, effective immediately, raising the 10% worldwide tariff on countries, many of which have been ‘ripping’ the US off for decades, without retribution, until I came along, to the fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level.”
On Friday, Trump announced a 10% global tariff rate to be added on top of already existing tariffs that remained valid after the court ruling, under alternative legal statutes outlined in the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and the Trade Act of 1974.
However, pro-crypto attorney Adam Cochran said the scope of these laws also limits Trump’s authority to levy broad tariffs indefinitely.
“The law he is using only allows this to be on countries we have a deficit with, for a set period of 150 days, and at a capped percentage,” he said.
Each new tariff announcement from Trump caused turmoil in the crypto and stock markets, with severe downturns that negatively impacted asset prices and fueled macroeconomic uncertainty among investors.
Related: US lawmakers critical of Trump tariffs, say it will derail the economy
Crypto markets held firm in the wake of the latest tariff announcements
The crypto market, which usually experiences heavy sell-offs in response to tariff announcements, held firm in the wake of the latest tariff headlines.
The price of Bitcoin (BTC) held steady at the $68,000 level, and Ether (ETH) also remained firm, showing little to no change since Friday when the new tariffs were announced.
The Total3 indicator, which tracks the entire market capitalization of the crypto sector, excluding BTC and ETH, fell by less than 1% on Saturday and remains at about $713 billion at the time of this writing.
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