Sun, Feb 22, 2026 page5

• US partners cautiously welcome tariff ruling

  REACTION: Canada said the Supreme Court decision proves the levies were unjustified, while the UK said it expects its ‘privileged trading position with the US to continue’

  • AFP and Bloomberg, WASHINGTON and TORONTO
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  US trading partners on Friday cautiously welcomed a Supreme Court ruling striking down US President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, with hard-hit Canada saying the levies were always “unjustified.”

  However, soon after the decision was announced, Trump vowed to impose a 10 percent tariff on all imports into the US under a separate authority.

  While the conservative-majority Supreme Court ruled that Trump was not authorized by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs, the ruling does not impact sector-specific duties that Trump has imposed on imports of steel, aluminum and various other goods.

  

  Shopkeepers tend their stores at the underpasses in the Benito Juarez borough in southern Mexico City on Tuesday.

  Photo: EPA

  Governments were weighing how all this this would impact commerce with the world’s largest economy, which has been transformed through Trump’s use of executive authority since he took office a year ago.

  Here is a look at how governments around the world have reacted:

  CANADA

  Canada said on Friday that the US Supreme Court decision striking down many of President Donald Trump’s tariffs proves the levies were “unjustified,” but added the trade measures causing Canadians the most pain remained in force.

  Canada was largely spared from IEEPA levies, as Trump has broadly adhered to tariff exemptions under the existing North American free trade agreement.

  However, sector-specific measures affecting industries like steel, aluminum and autos remain in place despite Friday’s ruling.

  Canadian Minister for International Trade Dominic LeBlanc said businesses impacted by those measures still need “support.”

  LeBlanc also promised Canada would continue working with the US “to create growth and opportunities on both sides of the border.”

  The Canadian Chamber of Commerce cautioned against viewing Friday’s court ruling as “a reset of US trade policy.”

  “Canada should prepare for new, blunter mechanisms to be used to reassert trade pressure, potentially with broader and more disruptive effects,” chamber president Candace Laing said in a statement.

  EUROPEAN UNION

  EU trade spokesman Olof Gill said that the 27-nation bloc was closely analyzing the ruling.

  “We remain in close contact with the US Administration as we seek clarity on the steps they intend to take in response to this ruling,” he said, stressing need for “stability and predictability” in trade.

  French Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Energy Sovereignty Roland Lescure said the ruling showed that tariffs are “at the very least, open to debate.”

  The German government said it was in “close contact with the US government to obtain clarifications on the next steps.”

  German industry group BDI was upbeat, with board member Wolfgang Niedermark saying the ruling was “clear proof that the separation of powers in the USA is still going strong.”

  UNITED KINGDOM

  Britain’s government said that it expects its “privileged trading position with the US to continue.”

  The close allies reached a trade deal in May last year that lifted tariffs on UK steel and aluminum products and slashed levies on British car exports from 27.5 percent to 10 percent.

  “We will work with the administration to understand how the ruling will affect tariffs for the UK and the rest of the world,” a government spokesperson said.

  MEXICO

  Mexico, which sends 80 percent of its exports to the US, said it was studying the possible effects of the 10-percent general tariff that Trump announced after the court verdict.

  “First, we’re going to see what measures they will take to determine how this will affect our country,” Mexican Secretary of Economy Marcelo Ebrard said.

  Until the court decision, products that did not qualify for the USMCA exemption were taxed at 35 percent if from Canada and 25 percent if from Mexico.

  For Mexico and Canada, the events provided more proof of the value of the tripartite trade deal, which was signed during Trump’s first term. But the president’s frustration over the court’s decision also raises the risk he may try to radically alter or even blow up USMCA altogether in pursuit of the tariff revenue he wants.
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