The Trump Admin Has Been Struggling To Impose Widespread Tariffs. It Appears To Be Ready To Give It Another Shot

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said the Trump administration could impose widespread tariffs again soon.

Asked about an FT report about the possibility, Greer told CNBC that "we expect to see some action soon."

"I can't really specify a timeline right now. I have responsibility to brief Congress and other stakeholders before I really reveal that kind of thing," he added.

The outlet noted that some of other Trump's tariffs are set to lapse Friday, and the announcement could be aimed at renewing them. He had imposed a blanket 10% tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. Just before, the Supreme Court had rejected his "liberation day" tariffs.

In ruling against Trump, the Supreme Court wrote that the president had not identified "clear congressional authorization" to issue tariffs. It noted that the IEEPA "contains no reference to tariffs or duties."

That ruling has resulted in the Trump administration having to issue billions of dollars in refunds to companies whose goods were illegally taxed. According to Fortune, the administration has issued $71 billion in refunds. It is believed that another $95 billion is still owed by the government.

Although many companies are receiving a refund from Trump's previous tariff measures, most of the costs of the illegal tax were passed along to citizens who will not receive a refund. An analysis by Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that "nearly 90 percent of the tariffs' economic burden fell on U.S. firms and consumers."

Trump also said he will be imposing a 50 percent tariff on several Canadian goods. They are set to go into effect in 30 days. They target a range of goods ranging from "wine to hockey sticks to cement." Some items that would be exempt from the measure include energy, potash, products subject to other tariffs, and certain other goods, such as fish or critical minerals.

Trump said the tariffs are in response to Canada's discriminatory practices against U.S. goods.

To implement the tariffs, Trump is citing a 96-year-old law. Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 does give the president power to impose tariffs if it is found that another country has discriminated against U.S. goods.

However, it is unclear whether an investigation into the trade practices of the country is required before tariffs can be invoked, Law360 wrote in an analysis. Also, the act might come into conflict with existing trade agreements, which could lead to challenges before the World Trade Organization.

The outlet added that it doesn't appear that the law has ever actually resulted in any implemented tariffs; rather, the law often was used as a threat to address trade grievances with another country, and measures stopped short of actual tariffs being implemented.