A deal is a deal: EU rejects Trump’s blanket tariff push after Supreme Court ruling

The European Union has sought full clarity from Washington and urged the United States to honour its trade commitments after the US Supreme Court struck down key elements of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff regime, intensifying uncertainty over transatlantic economic ties and raising fears of a wider trade conflict.

Reacting to the ruling, Trump announced a global blanket tariff of 15 per cent , up from 10 per cent unveiled just a day earlier. While an existing EU-US trade agreement caps most tariffs on European goods at 15 per cent, Brussels warned that abrupt policy shifts and legal ambiguity are fuelling market volatility and damaging business confidence, with European stock markets sliding sharply as investors feared renewed trade tensions, supply chain disruptions, and weaker global growth.

The European Commission said the current environment is not conducive to delivering “fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial” trade, as set out in the EU-US Joint Statement of August 2025 . Under the deal, Washington imposed a 15 per cent tariff on 70 per cent of EU exports, while Brussels committed to major purchases of US energy and large-scale investments. The ruling has now cast doubt on the stability of these commitments.

A senior EU lawmaker said he would propose pausing the ratification process, calling the situation “pure tariff chaos” and warning of growing uncertainty for companies and investors.

The scale of the economic relationship underscores the stakes. EU-US trade worth €1.7 trillion in goods and services in 2024, averaging €4.6 billion a day. Europe’s main exports include pharmaceuticals, cars, aircraft, chemicals, and medical equipment, while key US exports range from energy and aerospace products to advanced services and technology.

The commission warned that unpredictable tariffs threaten global supply chains and market confidence , delaying investment and raising costs for consumers. Prolonged instability, it added, could weaken international trade rules and strain long-standing alliances.

As a primarily trading bloc, the EU retains the Anti-Coercion Instrument , allowing it to restrict trade, investment, and public procurement access. In its most severe form, it could effectively block US firms from the 450-million-consumer EU market , risking billions of dollars in losses and escalating a damaging transatlantic trade dispute.