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As the sun sets over Seoul, the bustling Gangnam center business district is a spectacle of light trails created by speeding traffic through its intersections. This vibrant scene is a fitting backdrop to the mixed trading activity observed in Asia-Pacific markets on Monday, reflecting the prevailing uncertainty surrounding tariffs.
In a significant announcement over the weekend, U.S. President Donald Trump declared an increase in global tariffs, raising them from 10% to 15%. This decision follows a pivotal U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down broad elements of the president’s trade policies, which had been implemented under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, commonly known as IEEPA.
Despite the court’s decision, U.S. trading partners should not consider themselves free from potential impacts, according to Rystad Energy’s chief economist, Claudio Galimberti. He highlighted that while the ruling invalidates a substantial portion of existing tariffs and limits the administration’s ability to single out specific countries, the overall framework of tariffs remains largely intact.
Galimberti emphasized in a post-announcement note that the Supreme Court’s decision weakens but does not completely dismantle the tariff regime, suggesting that the trade landscape remains complex and unsettled.
That said, U.S. trading partners are not off the hook, said Rystad Energy’s chief economist Claudio Galimberti.
“While the Supreme Court’s ruling invalidates a large share of existing tariffs and weakens the ability to target individual countries, it does not dismantle the broader tariff framework,” he wrote in a note following the announcement.
If the upper tariff limit is reached without prior IEEPA exemptions, the average rate could climb even higher than under the structure the Supreme Court just struck down, Galimberti added.
South Korea’s Kospi rose for a third straight session, jumping to a fresh record high before paring gains to close at 5,846.
The small-cap Kosdaq slid 0.17% to end the trading day at 1,151.99.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.61% to 9,026.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index jumped over 2%.
Markets in China and Japan were closed for a holiday.
Bitcoin fell more than 3% to below $65,000 after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to raise global tariffs to 15%.
“The move lower in bitcoin looks less like a crypto‑specific shock and more like a classic risk‑sentiment reset,” said Christopher Hamilton, head of client investment solutions, APAC ex-Japan.
“Bitcoin has become increasingly sensitive to global liquidity conditions. When markets reprice growth, inflation or policy risks as we’re currently seeing with tariffs, bitcoin often acts as a high‑beta expression of risk rather than a defensive asset.”
Oil prices were last seen trading lower, erasing earlier gains. International benchmark Brent crude futures fell 0.6% to $71.33 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were 0.78% lower at $65.96.
“The Supreme Court ruling is a setback … but it is not an end to his policy agenda,” said Arthur Laffer, Jr., president of Laffer Tengler Investments.
Laffer said countries such as Vietnam and India that struck trade deals with the U.S. should think twice before backing away from those agreements, arguing that trade remains a central pillar of Trump’s political and economic strategy and that the president is likely to keep pressing the issue.
On Friday, U.S. stocks rose after the Supreme Court ruling, potentially providing relief for companies burdened by higher costs from the duties and easing concern about sticky inflation still plaguing the U.S. economy.
The S&P 500 advanced 0.69% and closed at 6,909.51, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.9% and settled at 22,886.07. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 230.81 points, or 0.47%, and ended at 49,625.97. The 30-stock index recovered from a 200-point loss earlier in the session on disappointing economic data.
— CNBC’s Sean Conlon and Pia Singh contributed to this report.
