Global 15% tariff announced as administration defends continuity in trade policy.
US trade representative Jamieson Greer said on Sunday that US tariff policy “hasn’t changed” following a Supreme Court of the United States ruling that struck down many tariffs imposed under the administration of Donald Trump.
Speaking on ABC’s This Week, Greer said the administration intends to maintain continuity in its trade approach, even if the legal mechanisms used to implement tariffs evolve. “The policy hasn’t changed. The legal tools that implement that may change but the policy hasn’t changed,” he said, adding that tariffs continue to provide leverage for US businesses in global trade.
In a separate interview with CBS, Greer said the US would not withdraw from tariff agreements already reached with trading partners including the UK, the EU, Japan and Switzerland, despite the court’s finding that the underlying tariffs were illegal. He said these bilateral deals are distinct from a new 15% global tariff announced over the weekend under Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act.
The court ruled 6–3 that a 1977 emergency powers law does not provide sufficient legal authority for most of the tariffs imposed, reaffirming that Congress holds primary authority to levy tariffs. Greer acknowledged the administration would now have less flexibility to impose emergency tariffs and said issues around refunds would be left to the US Court of International Trade.
China’s commerce ministry called on Washington to lift the tariffs and said it was assessing the impact of the ruling, while India delayed plans to send a trade delegation to the US amid policy uncertainty.
Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer described the ruling as a win for consumers and said Trump’s “overreach failed”. Treasury secretary Scott Bessent said the administration would await lower-court guidance on refunds and insisted revenue projections for 2026 remain unchanged.