Trump announced new global tariffs of 10% for an initial 150-day period and said it was not clear if or when there would be any refunds.
This defiant move follows a major legal blow on Friday, when the US Supreme Court ruled against President Donald Trump’s use of trade levies as an economic weapon, a decision that analysts suggest offers minimal immediate respite for the global economy, reports Reuters.
Industry experts anticipate a fresh wave of market volatility and confusion, with near-certainty that the Trump administration will seek alternative legal avenues to reinstate the global tariffs now deemed unlawful.
The judicial decision specifically addresses tariffs launched under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), intended for national emergencies, which are estimated to have amassed over $175 billion in revenue.
Varg Folkman, an analyst at the European Policy Centre (EPC) think tank, observed the burgeoning instability, “In general, I think it will just bring in a new period of high uncertainty in world trade, as everybody tries to figure out what the US tariff policy will be going forward.”
The ruling is expected to halve the trade-weighted average US tariff from 15.4% to 8.3%, according to estimates from Global Trade Alert. While the change is significant for many, it is particularly dramatic for nations like China, Brazil, and India, which are set to see double-digit percentage point reductions, though levels will remain notably high.
Despite these shifts, economists at ING bank remain cautious about a permanent change in policy, stating, “The scaffolding has come down, but the building remains under construction. No matter how today’s ruling reads, tariffs are here to stay.”
The legal fallout has cast doubt on bilateral deals established to mitigate the impact of previous levies. While some nations may choose to uphold existing agreements to avoid the “reciprocal” tariff chaos seen in early 2025, others may use the ruling as leverage for renegotiation.
In Europe, Bernd Lange, chair of the trade committee of the European Parliament, indicated that lawmakers would move to ratify the EU’s pact with the US as early as Monday.
Writing on X, Lange remarked, “The era of unlimited, arbitrary tariffs … might now be coming to an end. We must now carefully evaluate the ruling and its consequences.”
However, Niclas Poitiers, a research fellow at the Bruegel economic think tank, warned of potential instability in the EU-US trade deal, noting, “There could be circumstances in which the deal unravels.”
British government stated on Friday that it expects its “privileged trading position” with Washington to persist under the baseline 10% tariff already agreed.
Furthermore, recent data suggests some major economies have already adapted to the American trade pressure.
A Federal Reserve Bank of New York report highlighted that many countries were acclimating to the tariffs, the bulk of which were actually being paid by Americans.
Remarkably, China reported a record trade surplus of nearly $1.2 trillion in 2025, driven by surging exports to non-US markets as its producers successfully navigated the “Trump onslaught”.
As the International Monetary Fund forecasts “resilient” global growth of 3.3% for 2026, the world now waits to see how the administration will navigate the new legal landscape.
