Trump Raises Global Goods Tariffs to 15%, Draws International Attention

Summary

Following a Supreme Court ruling invalidating his previous tariff measures, President Trump immediately raised global import tariffs from 10% to 15% under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974.Finet HK+ 2 This move has triggered immediate international backlash, with the EU and others preparing countermeasures, while prediction markets suggest refunds for previous tariffs are highly unlikely.Finet HK

Impact Analysis

Classic escalation ladder here—Trump didn’t just ignore the Supreme Court; he doubled down. By pivoting to Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, he’s explicitly framing this as a ‘balance of payments’ emergency.Finet HK

Here’s the trade: The market is treating this as just ‘more noise,’ but the shift to Section 122 imposes a statutory 150-day clock. This compresses the volatility into a shorter window. We are looking at a violent, short-term cost-push inflation shock rather than a structural drift.

Don’t bank on relief for the importers—Polymarket odds on tariff refunds just crashed to 18%, so write off those potential windfalls for retail and logistics caps.benzinga_article The immediate play is shorting consumer discretionary exposure with high import reliance (margin compression is now guaranteed for Q2/Q3) and going long volatility. The 15% rate is the headline, but the real story is the breakdown of legal predictability—risk premiums need to re-rate higher.