The United States imposed a new tariff from Tuesday (Feb 24) of 10 per cent on all goods not covered by exemptions, the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said.
This was the rate first announced by President Donald Trump on Friday, rather than the 15 per cent he promised a day later.
Reacting to the US Supreme Court ruling that threw out tariffs it deemed were illegally justified on grounds of an emergency, Trump initially announced a new temporary global tariff of 10 per cent. He said on Saturday he would increase it to 15 per cent.
But in a notice described as intended to “provide guidance regarding the Feb 20, 2026, Presidential Proclamation”, CBP said that, aside from products covered by exemptions, imports would “be subject to an additional ad valorem rate of 10 per cent”.
UNCLEAR WHY LOWER RATE IS IMPOSED
The move added to confusion surrounding US trade policy, with no explanation offered in the notice for why the lower rate had been used.
The Financial Times quoted a White House official as saying the increase up to 15 per cent would come later. Reuters could not immediately confirm this.
“Remember that Trump is delivering the State of the Union address tonight, so it’s possible we might get a better sense of the next steps on tariffs,” Deutsche Bank analysts said in a note.
Traders cited uncertainty about the trade outlook as one reason why European shares slipped on Tuesday, with the pan-European STOXX 600 index down 0.1 per cent by 9.15am GMT (5.15pm, Singapore time).