USTR Representative: "Global 10% Tariff Can Be Reimposed After July Expiration"

USTR Representative: "Global 10% Tariff Can Be Reimposed After July Expiration"

Jamison Greer, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), stated on the 26th (local time) that the 'global 10% tariff' imposed by the Donald Trump administration could be reimposed even after its legal deadline expires in July.

According to the U.S. daily Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Greer stated at an event held by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) that "the relevant legal provision states when (the tariff) expires, but not when it can be reimposed," expressing the opinion that reimposition is legally possible.

He did not mention whether the Trump administration would actually pursue the reimposition of the 'global 10% tariff', but said he "could not imagine" that it was the intent of Congress, which enacted the law, to limit the President to imposing tariffs under Section 122 of the 'Trade Act of 1974' only once during his term.

The maximum period for the U.S. administration to impose tariffs under Section 122 of the Trade Act is 150 days, and it expires in late July.

This provision can be invoked by the President in cases of large and serious U.S. balance of payments deficits, imminent and significant risk of depreciation of the U.S. dollar, or situations requiring international cooperation to correct balance of payments imbalances.

Greer added that the USTR is still "highly focused" on conducting investigations that will form the basis for tariffs to replace the current 'global 10% universal tariff'.

He had previously stated that these alternative tariffs would be imposed in July under Section 301 of the Trade Act.

Section 301 of the Trade Act, a powerful U.S. trade weapon, grants the USTR broad retaliatory powers to protect the interests of U.S. commerce from unfair, discriminatory, or unreasonable trade policies and practices of foreign governments.

Currently, the Trump administration is conducting investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act on two issues: overproduction and forced labor.

Previously, after the Supreme Court ruled in February this year that the imposition of reciprocal tariffs based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) was illegal, President Trump is now imposing a '10% global tariff' based on Section 122 of the Trade Act.

On the 7th, the U.S. Court of International Trade (USCIT) ruled that the imposition of the '10% global tariff' was illegal, but on the 12th, the Federal Court of Appeals temporarily stayed the enforcement of the lower court's ruling, so the imposition is currently continuing.