After the Supreme Court rejectionDonald Trump relaunches and raises the stakes further: not anymore global tariffs at 10%but an increase to 15% with immediate effect across all countries. The announcement comes once again via Truth, the US president’s social network: “I, as president, will increase, effective immediately, global tariffs from 10% to the fully permitted and legally tested level of 15%,” he wrote, accusing many trading partners of having “robbed the United States for decades.”
Trump explicitly recalled the Section 212 of the Trade Act 1974which allows the introduction of global tariffs of up to 15% for a maximum period of 150 days. A choice that aims to block the measure on a legal level after the Supreme Court’s stop, defined by the president as “ridiculous, poorly written and extraordinarily anti-American”. In the coming months, he added, the administration will determine and formalize new “legally permissible” tariffs to consolidate what it calls a successful strategy to “make America great again.”
The move marks a further tightening in the US trade warrekindling tensions with Europe and opening a phase of strength international economic uncertainty.
EU-US trade agreement in limbo: risk of new uncertainty for Europe
The new tightening to 15% further complicates the picture oftrade agreement between the United States and the European Union. The previous decision of Supreme Court on tariffs it had already opened legal and political questions; now the increase to the maximum limit allowed for 150 days risks freezing the transatlantic negotiation.
Crucial issues remain: possible refunds of previous faresnew strategies from the Trump administration to make the measures structural beyond the time window provided by the Trade Act and the use of alternative tools to justify tariffs in the long term. Among the hypotheses, the accusation also returns European digital standards to represent an “indirect tax” on American companies.
If the agreement were to suffer further delays or harden under the weight of the new tariff escalation, Europe and the United States would risk a new season of trade tensions and political instabilitywith direct repercussions on investments, industrial supply chains and financial markets.
Urso: “Caution and responsibility”. Tajani convenes the business task force
On the Italian front, the minister of Made in Italy Adolfo Urso invites prudence: «Caution and responsibility». The United States remains, he underlines, an “essential partner”, but the increase in duties to 15% requires a careful evaluation of the impact on exports and competitiveness.
The European Union is asking for clarity, while one is expected in Brussels extraordinary meeting on the EU-US agreement. The Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani will also convene the task force with Italian companies to evaluate the consequences of the new measures on strategic supply chains, from agri-food to mechanics.
Panetta: “The burden of tariffs is not without costs for the USA”
The governor of Bank of Italy Fabio Panetta highlights that so far the burden of tariffs has been spread across multiple countries, including China, but warns that they are not without costs for the United States either. With a level of 15%, the risk is an increase in domestic prices, inflationary tensions and a possible slowdown in trade.
A clear signal: the trade protectionism it can produce boomerang effects on the global economy, in a context already marked by geopolitical fragilities and market volatility.
Political clash in Italy: opposition attacks
The political reactions were harsh. The Pd MEP Matteo Ricci speaks of a “huge defeat for global sovereignists and protectionism”, underlining that trade closure would not represent an effective response to European economic problems.
Along the same lines Nicola Fratoianni (Avs), which accuses the Italian government of not having taken a clear position against the Trump’s tariff policyinviting Meloni and the ministers to maintain a more marked distance.
With the new ones US duties at 15%an even more delicate phase is therefore opening for the global economy. Between tariff escalation, uncertainty over the transatlantic trade agreement and possible repercussions on Italian exports, Europe is preparing for decisive weeks, with the real risk of a new fracture in economic relations with Washington.