“In terms of uncertainty we’re back to where we were last year,” he told the BBC’s Today programme, adding there was now a higher risk that the US’s trading partners would retaliate.<\/p>\n
“The risk of a real fully-fledged tariff war – trade war – escalation is clearly higher than last year,” he said.<\/p>\n
The executive order, external<\/a> signed by Trump on Friday said the temporary import duty was intended to “address fundamental international payments problems and continue the Administration’s work to rebalance our trade relationships to benefit American workers, farmers, and manufacturers”.<\/p>\n The administration is applying the levy under Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act, external<\/a>, which allows the president to impose the charge for 150 days without congressional approval.<\/p>\n The president has argued that tariffs are necessary to reduce America’s trade deficit – the amount by which imports exceed exports. But the deficit reached a fresh high last week, widening by 2.1% compared to 2024 and hitting roughly $1.2 trillion (\u00a3890bn).<\/p>\n The US has already collected at least $130bn in tariffs using the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), according to the most recent official data.<\/p>\n Trump has been highly critical of the Supreme Court’s decision<\/a>, calling it “ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American”.<\/p>\n In a 6-3 decision, justices on the highest US court found that the president had overstepped his powers when he introduced sweeping global tariffs last year using the IEEPA. <\/p>\n