Scott Bessent Says Tariffs Will Rise To 15% This Week, Signals ‘Strong Belief’ On Reset To Old Rates By August

by | Mar 5, 2026 | General

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that President Donald Trump’s global tariff, currently at 10%, is slated to rise to 15% “sometime this week.”

In an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Wednesday, Bessent predicted that by August, the tariff rates would return to their original levels.

He noted that the substitute tariffs, imposed under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, can remain in place for only 150 days unless Congress approves an extension. During this period, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and the Commerce Department will conduct trade studies that could lead to additional tariffs.

Bessent said the measures are more durable and “robust” because they have survived over 4,000 legal challenges, even though they move more slowly.

“It’s my strong belief that the tariff rates will be back to their old rate within five months,” said the Treasury Secretary.

Tariff Rate Confusion

Notably, immediately after the Supreme Court’s February ruling striking down Trump tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the president imposed a global tariff rate of 10% under Section 122 only to increase it to 15% the next day. Trump also signed an Executive Order formalizing the 10% rate.

However, since no directive was issued for the 15% rate, the Customs and Border Protection decided to impose a 10% tariff under the new structure on all non-exempt goods from February 24.

Court Orders Billions In Refunds

Bessent’s comments came hours before the U.S. Court of International Trade ordered the government to refund potentially billions in tariffs to importers, stating that these tariffs were unlawfully collected. The lawsuit was initiated by Atmus Filtration Technologies (NYSE:ATMUS), which argued it had paid around $11 million in illegal tariffs.

Bessent had previously stated that despite the ruling, the Trump administration expected the U.S. tariff revenue to remain “virtually unchanged” in 2026. The Supreme Court did not mention details about the refund process of an estimated $130–175 billion in collected revenue during the ruling.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by a Benzinga editor.

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