Greer, USTR Chief, Says Tariffs on "Some" Countries Will Be Raised to 15%

Trump Signals 15% Hike on the "Entire World"
Move Appears Aimed at Countries Targeted by Section 301 Investigations

Greer Jamison, United States Trade Representative (USTR), Yonhap News

United States Trade Representative (USTR) Jamison Greer stated that, following the Supreme Court ruling that cross-retaliatory tariffs were illegal, the newly imposed 10% global tariff will be raised to 15% for some countries.

According to Reuters on the 25th (local time), Greer said on Fox Business that day, "We are currently imposing a 10% tariff," adding, "For some countries it will rise to 15%, and for other countries it could go even higher."

He added, "I think this will be consistent with the types of tariffs we have seen so far."

On February 20, President Trump signed a proclamation to apply a new 10% global tariff to all U.S. trading partners, and it was announced at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on the 24th.

On the 21st, just one day after President Trump signed the proclamation, he wrote on the social media (SNS) platform Truth Social that the entire world would be subject to a 15% tariff, but Greer referred instead to "some" countries.

The "some" countries Greer mentioned (and the other countries whose tariff rates could be higher) appear to be those that fall under the findings of investigations conducted pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act.

The legal basis President Trump used to impose the new global tariff is Section 122 of the Trade Act, which authorizes the U.S. president to impose tariffs of up to 15% for no longer than 150 days.

This means that, over roughly five months, through investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act, tariffs with rates higher than the 10% or 15% allowed under Section 122 could be imposed.

Previously, in an interview with ABC on the 22nd, Greer said in relation to the Section 301 investigations, "We have launched investigations into Brazil and China," and added, "We are also going to start an investigation into excess production capacity. This will address several Asian countries with excess production capacity."