Trump wants to make his trade wall bigger and better than ever before

July 21, 2026 — 12:04pm

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As Donald Trump’s latest attempt to rebuild the tariff wall that was demolished by the US Supreme Court earlier this year goes live, he’s already planning to make it higher.

This was always going to be a significant week for global trade, given that Trump’s temporary replacements for the “Liberation Day” tariffs – the 10 per cent baseline tariffs on almost all imports to the US, which the Supreme Court had ruled illegal in February - are scheduled to expire on Friday.

Those replacement tariffs, using Section 122 of the Trade Act, have themselves been ruled illegal by US courts and the revenue raised may have to be reimbursed. In any event, they could only be imposed for a maximum of 150 days.

That period ends on Friday, and the Trump administration has been racing to get a more permanent replacement in place before the deadline.

Last month, using a more robust section of the Trade Act, Section 301 (although it, too, might be challenged in the courts) the administration announced it would impose new tariffs of either 10 per cent or 12.5 per cent on 99.4 per cent of all imports to the US, using the pretext that it was a response to inadequate efforts by its tradings partners including Australia to prevent imports made with forced labour.

Separately, it identified 16 of America’s biggest trading partners – including China, Japan, the European Union, India and South Korea – as potential targets for even higher tariffs, claiming they had excess manufacturing capacity and production that burdened or restricted US commerce.

Trump’s flurry of trade-related actions over the past week shows how committed he is to his misconceived understanding of trade.

Last Friday, Trump announced even more tariffs, this time on Brazil, as retaliation for “unfair” trade practices, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying Brazil hadn’t negotiated in good faith and that President Luiz Inácio........

© The Age