Europe is seeking stability after the Supreme Court of the United States blew up President Donald Trump’s tariff playbook — forcing officials to rethink a trade agreement reached in July 2025 that has not been ratified.
“Our basic assumption that President Trump could use another legal basis has to be confronted with the new contextual elements, including the analysis of SCOTUS’ decision,” a European official said.
Translation: the legal ground just shifted — and Europeans are taking a close analysis of the ruling to see what Trump would do next on taxing some of the US’s biggest trading partners.
The shock ruling has scrambled expectations inside the European Union, where policymakers had been bracing for a quick tariff relaunch under different authorities, another official said. Now they are gaming out whether the administration has fewer options than they thought — potentially weakening US leverage in any trade showdown.
Eyes are turning to the White House to see whether Trump goes back to the drawing board with narrower tariffs, tries to cut a new deal or pushes Congress to step in.
For European capitals already jittery about economic headwinds, the court decision landed like a thunderclap — and the aftershocks are just beginning.