WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump warned Monday that any country that wants to "play games" with last week's Supreme Court ruling against his administration's emergency tariffs will face a "much higher" tariff.
Trump issued the warning in a social media post after the high court ruled Friday against his use of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to justify country-specific "reciprocal" tariffs and other duties in a major setback to his trade policy.
"Any Country that wants to 'play games' with the ridiculous supreme court decision, especially those that have 'Ripped Off' the U.S.A. for years, and even decades, will be met with a much higher Tariff, and worse, than that which they just recently agreed to," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
"BUYER BEWARE!!!," he added.
The court ruling against IEEPA tariffs raised questions over its potential impact on bilateral trade and investment deals with trading partners, which the Trump administration has clinched using the sweeping duties as a pivotal negotiating tool.
After the ruling, the Trump administration took steps to replace the invalidated IEEPA tariffs with other duties, using different legal means.
Trump said that his administration will impose a temporary 15 percent global tariff under Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act, a provision that allows the president to impose import restrictions, including tariffs and import quotas.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer also unveiled plans to conduct investigations under Section 301 of the same act, a statute that allows the U.S. government the authority to investigate and respond to unfair foreign trade practices through tariffs or other actions.
In a separate post, Trump argued that as president, he does not have to go back to Congress to get approval for tariffs.
"It has already been gotten, in many forms, a long time ago!," he said, referring to the legal measures that his administration has at its disposal aside from the IEEPA.
In its ruling, the top court said that IEEPA does not authorize the president to impose tariffs, noting that the president must identify "clear congressional authorization" for the imposition of tariffs.
Criticizing Trump's tariff policies as "chaotic," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said on social media that Senate Democrats will block any attempt to extend Trump's new tariffs when they expire this summer. Section 122 tariffs may not exceed 150 days unless they are extended by Congress.
"Trump's chaotic tariff policies have already been rebuked by Democrats, Republicans, and even the Supreme Court," Schumer wrote on X. "They are a tax on Americans, driving prices higher for families."
Trump has been leveraging tariffs to reduce America's trade deficit, boost its domestic manufacturing and foreign investments, and increase federal revenue ahead of the midterm elections, which are seen as a crucial gauge of public sentiment toward his administration.