Trump prepares to renew tariffs as 10% levies near expiration

The 10% global tariff that President Trump slapped on imports under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 is set to expire on July 24. And the White House is already moving to ensure that deadline doesn’t mean a return to tariff-free trade.

The administration is preparing to either renew or replace the measure, effectively restarting a trade war that the Supreme Court temporarily interrupted back in February.

How we got here

On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court delivered a 6-3 ruling in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump that fundamentally changed the tariff playbook. The court held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, does not grant the president authority to impose tariffs.

That decision invalidated a sweeping set of tariffs that had been announced in April 2025, which ranged from a baseline of 10% up to 41% on certain countries.

Trump’s response was swift. Within hours of the ruling, he pivoted to Section 122, a provision originally designed as a temporary balance-of-payments measure. A flat 10% tariff on all imports took effect around February 24, buying time while the administration explored longer-term options including investigations under Section 301.

The statute has built-in time limits, and that clock runs out on July 24. The administration now faces a choice: extend the same authority, pivot to a different legal mechanism, or let the tariffs lapse entirely. The last option appears to be off the table.

Why crypto traders should care

Every major tariff announcement between 2025 and 2026 has triggered noticeable price drops in Bitcoin and other digital assets. The mechanism isn’t complicated: tariffs raise costs, stoke inflation fears, tighten financial conditions, and spook investors holding risk assets.

Bitcoin has consistently stabilized faster than equities after these tariff-induced selloffs. Stocks tend to grind lower as companies work through supply chain disruptions and margin compression. Crypto snaps back once the initial panic subsides.

If the administration announces a straightforward extension of the 10% rate, the reaction might be muted since markets have already priced in that baseline. But if Trump escalates, perhaps reintroducing country-specific rates closer to the 41% levels that were struck down, expect a sharper selloff across risk assets including crypto.

The macro picture gets complicated

When tariffs go up, they tend to strengthen the dollar in the short run as import demand contracts. A stronger dollar historically puts downward pressure on Bitcoin and other crypto assets denominated in USD.

Tariffs introduce inflationary pressure that could keep the Federal Reserve hawkish on interest rates. Higher rates mean tighter liquidity, which means less capital flowing into speculative investments. Analysts have noted that crypto assets sensitive to macroeconomic shifts face particular headwinds in this kind of environment.

In the immediate term, tariff announcements correlate with liquidation events in crypto markets. Leveraged positions get wiped out, spot prices drop, and the recovery takes days to weeks rather than months.

For investors positioning around the July 24 deadline: reduce leverage heading into the decision window; watch for signals about the specific rate structure, since a flat 10% extension is the most benign outcome while escalation toward differentiated country rates would be more disruptive; and pay attention to Section 301 investigations, which could signal a more aggressive and longer-lasting tariff regime deployed as a replacement for the Section 122 framework.

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