US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his administration could maintain tariffs at 15% for as long as five months, indicating that further trade measures targeting multiple countries are in the pipeline.
“We have up to five months where we can go at 15%. And while we are doing that, we will be coming out with different tariffs on different countries,” the US President informed during a press conference at the White House alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
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The remarks signal a possible expansion of Washington’s tariff regime, even as legal and diplomatic challenges continue to swirl around US trade policy. Trump said that although the US Supreme Court had previously pushed back on his tariff actions, they had also outlined alternative routes for imposing duties.
“The courts said ‘no,’ but they said you can do it many other ways, and we are doing it,” he said, without elaborating on the mechanisms his administration intends to use.
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Defending his approach, the businessman-turned-politician argued that tariffs have strengthened the US economy and boosted government revenues. “Tariffs have made our country very rich. We have to charge tariffs from countries who play with their money – they move their money up and down, like a yo-yo,” he said, while responding to a press question.
The president further echoed his earlier claims that countries are eager to preserve existing trade arrangements with the United States. “Every single country wants to make the deal they already have. They want to make the same deal,” he said.Trump team seeks delay in tariff refund litigation
Even as Trump signalled fresh tariff measures, his administration moved to slow down legal proceedings related to refunds for importers after the Supreme Court struck down several of his global duties.
In a court filing last month, the government asked for a delay of up to four months before refund litigation resumes at the US Court of International Trade.
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The administration argued that under standard procedure, the top court’s judgment is formally issued 32 days after entry, and sought an additional 90-day window to allow the executive and legislative branches to consider their options.
The SC’s ruling marked a major setback for Trump’s trade agenda, holding that he had exceeded his authority in imposing sweeping tariffs on multiple countries.
While the judgment invalidated broad-based duties, it did not affect sector-specific levies on products such as steel and automobiles.
The legal battle traces back to an earlier ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which had found many of Trump’s tariffs unlawful but left the issue of refunds to the trade court.
That process was paused as the case moved to the Supreme Court.
Following the apex court’s decision, Trump invoked a different statute to impose a fresh 10% tariff on imports, signalling that his administration intends to keep up trade pressure despite judicial hurdles.
He also criticised the court’s ruling in a post on Truth Social, suggesting it would enable foreign countries and companies to continue “ripping off” the United States, and publicly questioned whether a rehearing of the case was possible.