U.S. likely to raise temporary global tariff rate to 15% this week, Bessent says

U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent speaks to reporters at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Wednesday that an increase in U.S. President Donald Trump’s new temporary global import tariff to 15 per cent from 10 per cent was likely to be implemented sometime this week.

The new tariff rate was announced by Trump in late February after the Supreme Court struck down his previous global tariffs under a national emergencies law. He initially imposed the 150-day tariffs under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 at a lower 10 per cent rate.

“That’s likely sometime this week,” Bessent said on CNBC of the 15 per cent rate order from Trump.

“During the 150 days, we will see studies from USTR on Section 301, tariffs from Commerce on Section 232,” he said, referring to other tariff authorities that have withstood court challenges.

He said the effort to rebuild Trump’s tariff program under these authorities would bring U.S. duty rates back to their prior levels within five months.

“They are slow moving, but they are more robust,” Bessent said of the Section 232 national security-based tariffs and the Section 301 unfair trade practices tariffs.

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Alison Williams and Chizu Nomiyama )