President Donald Trump warned Monday that countries attempting to exploit the Supreme Court’s tariff ruling to escape trade agreements will face steeper tariffs than those they originally negotiated with his administration.
“Any Country that wants to ‘play games’ with the ridiculous supreme court decision, especially those that have ‘Ripped Off’ the U.S.A. for years, and even decades, will be met with a much higher Tariff, and worse, than that which they just recently agreed to,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “BUYER BEWARE!!!”
The warning comes as the European Union froze ratification of its trade deal with the United States and Japanese opposition politicians called for reconsidering Tokyo’s $550 billion investment package, both citing uncertainty following the high court’s Friday decision striking down Trump’s emergency tariff authority.
The Supreme Court ruled that Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose global tariffs violated Congress’s constitutional authority to levy taxes. Trump responded by announcing new tariffs under Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act—first 10 percent, then increased to 15 percent—which allows the president to impose duties for 150 days without congressional approval.
But the legal setback has emboldened U.S. trading partners to reconsider agreements they negotiated while facing Trump’s original tariff threat. The European Parliament, which had already paused talks over Trump’s Greenland-related tariff threats earlier this year, announced Monday it would shelve approval of the Turnberry Deal that would have eliminated tariffs on U.S. goods.
“The situation is now more uncertain than ever. This runs counter to the stability and predictability we sought to achieve with the Turnberry Deal,” said Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s trade committee, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Administration officials pushed back against any suggestion the agreements were no longer binding. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Sunday that the deals “remain in place” and the administration expects partners to honor them.
“That’s why they signed these deals even while the litigation was pending,” Greer told CBS’s Face the Nation, noting he had told counterparts “for a year—whether we won or lost, we were going to have tariffs.”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. had been in contact with trading partners “and they like the tariff deals.”
But European officials are demanding clarity before proceeding. The European Commission said it wants to understand the Trump administration’s next steps before the bloc’s executive arm decides whether to move forward. Commission trade chief Maros Sefcovic is meeting with G7 trade ministers and EU lawmakers this week.
In Japan, the debate has split along political lines. Conservative newspapers Yomiuri Shimbun and Sankei Shimbun backed maintaining the $550 billion investment commitment, with Sankei urging the government to “safeguard national interests” at a planned March summit. But liberal outlets Asahi Shimbun and Mainichi Shimbun called for reviewing the agreement in light of the court ruling.
The Japanese government has sided with the conservatives. Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Ryosei Akazawa told U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick there would be no change to the investment agreement.
India, meanwhile, postponed trade talks scheduled for this week in the United States.
Trump’s Truth Social post suggested his patience with trading partners seeking to renegotiate is limited. In a follow-up post, he emphasized that “as President, I do not have to go back to Congress to get approval of Tariffs.”
The administration has yet to initiate new Section 301 or Section 232 investigations that would be required to impose longer-lasting tariffs under those authorities, leaving the 15% Section 122 duties as the primary tool for now. Those tariffs can remain in place for 150 days.
Trump is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a visit to China starting March 31. Greer noted the U.S. already maintains an average 40% tariff on Chinese goods without using the emergency law struck down by the court.
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