Trump threatens higher tariffs on countries who back out of deals after Supreme Court ruling
Published: 24 Feb. 2026, 10:15
![U.S. President Donald Trump gestures at the end of an event to honor ″Angel Families″ who have lost family members to crimes committed by people in the country illegally, at the White House in Washington on Feb. 23. [REUTERS/YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/02/24/5479105a-efc2-42a3-8a46-2b0b3907941c.jpg)
U.S. President Donald Trump gestures at the end of an event to honor ″Angel Families″ who have lost family members to crimes committed by people in the country illegally, at the White House in Washington on Feb. 23. [REUTERS/YONHAP]
WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday threatened that he would impose higher tariffs on countries that want to “play games” following a Supreme Court ruling that found his reciprocal tariffs unlawful.
In a post on his Truth Social, Trump said, “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. BUYER BEWARE!!!”
The remarks, widely interpreted as a pointed warning to negotiating partners, suggest that countries that pledged large-scale investments in the United States, or purchases of U.S. agricultural and manufactured goods after the reciprocal tariffs were imposed, could face consequences if they try to back out of those deals through the Supreme Court ruling. In this case, Washington could respond with tough retaliatory measures, including steep tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act and other available tools.
In another post, Trump described the Supreme Court’s decision as a “ridiculous, dumb and very internationally divisive ruling,” claiming that it had “accidentally and unwittingly gave me, as President of the United States, far more powers and strength than I had prior.”
He also wrote “supreme court” in lowercase, instead of the customary capitalization, saying he would do so “for a while based on a complete lack of respect.”
On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump’s imposition of reciprocal tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, known as the IEEPA, exceeded presidential authority and was therefore unlawful. In response, Trump immediately invoked Section 122 of the Trade Act to sign a proclamation imposing a uniform 10 percent “global tariff” on imports worldwide, before saying a day later that he would raise the rate to 15 percent.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM HYOUNG-GU [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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