EU should strike now Trump tariffs have been defeated by Supreme Court

· EUobserver

The new US Supreme Court ruling deals a major blow to Donald Trump, whose tariff policies have been at the cornerstone of both his foreign and domestic agendas (Source: European Commission)

Opinion

EU should strike now Trump tariffs have been defeated by Supreme Court

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By Varg Folkman and Ian Hernandez,
Brussels
,

When president Donald Trump declared his so-called ‘Liberation Day’ in April 2025 and unveiled sweeping reciprocal tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), he demonstrated a level of audacity beyond anything seen in his first administration, using a statute never before deployed for tariffs and far exceeding the conventional trade authorities employed in his first term. 

Now on Friday (20 February), the Supreme Court of the US ruled that IEEPA does not authorise the imposition of tariffs, delivering a decisive vindication of the scholars and trade lawyers who had long warned against this expansive interpretation of executive power.

The ruling deals a major blow to Trump, whose tariff policies have been at the cornerstone of both his foreign and domestic agendas. 

Equally, the verdict should embolden international trade partners to push back against Trump, now squarely on his heels.

The Supreme Court verdict is the latest highlight in a deteriorating trade agenda for Trump. EU leaders must take note of the court’s verdict and push back against it. With Trump on the defensive, the time is ripe for an EU offensive. 

Dazed and confused

For a year, the globe has been dazed and confused by Trump’s aggressive trade policy. Wielding tariffs as a coercive tool, Trump has browbeaten partners and rivals alike into submission.

‘Do as I command, or else’ has been the message from the White House, with countries on the receiving end filling in the blanks.

For the EU, fears over Trump withdrawing security guarantees and support to Ukraine was the largest “or else” of all. 

Domestically, Trump advanced an unorthodox fiscal theory: additional tariff revenue could help offset the massive tax cuts enacted through the summer 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act — an anachronistic idea that amounts to a bizarre throwback to the republic’s earliest years, when the United States had no income tax and relied primarily on customs duties for revenue.

Added costs would, paradoxically, be borne by foreign companies, he simultaneously claimed. 

Reeling from the defeat, Trump quickly reimposed global tariffs of 10 percent, later raised to 15 percent, using another arcane law, namely article 122 of the 1974 Trade Act. Under “fundamental international payment problems”, the act allows Trump to raise tariffs to a max of 15 percent for 150 days. 

Unsurprisingly, US trade partners are not convinced that they should continue to bear the skewed trade agreements imposed by the US, as Trump’s policies are found to be illegal.

EU parliament intervention

Indeed, Bernd Lange, leader of the European Parliament international trade committee, said on Sunday evening that he would recommend that MEPs suspend work on implementing the EU-US trade deal from last year. 

Domestic US sentiment should further embolden EU politicians to now make a clean break from the subservient role they have accepted in trade relations with the US.

Fresh polling from YouGov shows that most Americans approve of the Supreme Court’s verdict, with a significant majority saying the Trump tariffs have raised prices for them. 

With the 2026 midterms fast approaching, Trump obviously sees the writing on the wall. The days when treasury secretary Scott Bessent could confidently claim that “access to cheap goods is not the essence of the American dream” are far gone.

Rather, Trump is slashing tariffs on consumer goods and lashing out against reports showing tariffs leading to higher prices for consumers. 

Trump is off balance and on the defensive. The moment is opportune to stand up to his bullying tactics. He has not looked this vulnerable since he was reeling from the market reactions to his initial Liberation Day tariffs. 

The same dependencies that made the EU bow to US pressure last summer persist to this day, and the appetite of the member states for a reckoning with US is hardly great. Nevertheless, this may be the best opportunity the EU will get to stop the imbalances of the last year from becoming permanent. 

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The new US Supreme Court ruling deals a major blow to Donald Trump, whose tariff policies have been at the cornerstone of both his foreign and domestic agendas (Source: European Commission)

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Author Bio

Varg Folkman is a policy analyst at the European Policy Centre and formerly competition reporter at Politico.eu.

Ian Hernandez is junior policy analyst at the European Policy Centre.

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