Us Trade Representative: Some Countries To Face 15% Increase, China Exempt

On Fox Business Channel's program that day, Greer stated that Trump plans to visit China in the coming weeks, so the administration has no intention of raising tariffs on Chinese goods beyond current levels.

When asked whether the government is willing to impose high new tariffs on Chinese goods, he said: "We do not plan to raise tariffs above the current level. We plan to strictly comply with the agreement reached with China."

Greer also mentioned that the Trump administration is replacing the emergency tariffs that were overturned by the Supreme Court with new tariffs. In addition to the 10% provisional tariffs implemented under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, a new trade investigation launched under Section 301 of that Act, targeting so-called "unfair trade practices," will be at the core of this tariff replacement arrangement.

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However, during an interview with U.S. media on the same day, Greer did not specify which countries would see their tax rates increased to 15%.

He just said generally that the White House is preparing to announce that the temporary tariffs will be raised to 15% "where appropriate." "Right now we have a 10% tariff, and some countries will go to 15%, and others may be even higher, and I think that's in keeping with the kind of tariffs that we've been using."

Greer also stated that, following the Supreme Court’s adverse ruling, the government may need “several months” to reconstruct the Trump-era tariff system in a manner compliant with existing trade agreements. He indicated that the U.S. side plans to use this period to conduct trade investigations under other statutory authorities, paving the way for imposing “more permanent” tariffs on products from specific countries and sectors.

Additionally, he stated that the U.S. seeks to maintain "policy continuity" with countries that have already reached trade agreements. When asked whether raising tariffs would violate the U.S.-EU agreement, Greer said he would later explain "how to accommodate other countries," but did not disclose specific details.