U.S. tariffs go broader

A tariff that used to hit just the steel inside a product is now being charged on the entire import price of that product, which means a part with $20 of steel inside a $200 machine can be taxed as if the whole $200 were steel. The White House said last week that Section 232 tariffs will now reflect the “full value” of imported steel, aluminum, and copper products rather than only the metal portion. (whitehouse.gov) That change is aimed at “derivative” goods, which is Washington’s term for products made with metal but sold as something else, like auto parts, tools, or equipment. A 2025 Federal Register notice had said duties on some steel derivative products would be assessed only on the value of the steel content, so this month’s shift is a real expansion from the earlier method. (federalregister.gov) (whitehouse.gov) The math changes fast. If the tariff rate is 50% and Customs applies it to a $1,000 imported assembly instead of the $200 worth of steel inside it, the duty jumps from $100 to $500. (whitehouse.gov) (cbp.gov) The administration’s legal footing is stronger here than on some of its other tariff moves because Section 232 is the national-security trade law Congress wrote for metals. The Supreme Court’s February 20, 2026 decision in Learning Resources v. Trump said the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize the president to impose tariffs, but that ruling did not erase Section 232 itself. (supremecourt.gov) (whitehouse.gov) That is why importers are now dealing with two different problems at once. One bucket of tariffs tied to emergency powers is being challenged or unwound after the Supreme Court ruling, while another bucket tied to Section 232 is being rewritten to collect more money at the border. (supremecourt.gov) (prnewswire.com) (whitehouse.gov) That split is why refund firms are suddenly busy. After the February ruling, advisory firms started telling companies to identify past tariff payments, preserve claims, and even explore selling expected refunds for cash before courts finish sorting out the cases. (prnewswire.com) At the same time, President Donald Trump opened a new front on April 8 by saying any country supplying military weapons to Iran would face a 50% tariff on all goods sold to the United States, “effective immediately,” with no exclusions or exemptions. As of the initial reports, that threat appeared in a Truth Social post rather than a published legal order naming countries, tariff codes, or an enforcement mechanism. (cnbc.com) (supplychaindive.com) That matters because the court just took away the broad emergency-powers shortcut Trump had used for across-the-board tariff threats. Politico reported this week that the legal path for an Iran-linked tariff is murky after the Supreme Court’s spring decision, which means the White House may need a different statute, a new process, or both. (politico.com) (supremecourt.gov) So the practical result is not one clean tariff story but three overlapping ones. Metal-heavy imports are getting more expensive under a tougher Section 232 formula, older emergency tariffs are being contested for refunds, and the newest geopolitical tariff threats may not be enforceable until the White House shows its legal paperwork. (whitehouse.gov) (supremecourt.gov) (politico.com)