By Ginika Igboke
None of the U.S. trading partners that reached agreements with the Trump administration have indicated plans to withdraw, despite last week’s Supreme Court decision striking down most of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Feb. 22.
Speaking on Face the Nation on CBS News, Greer said he had spoken over the weekend with his counterpart from the European Union, as well as officials from other countries.
“The deals were not premised on whether or not the emergency tariff litigation would rise or fall,” Greer said.
“So it’s totally normal for these countries to talk to each other, have meetings internally to determine this. But rest assured, I’ve been speaking to these folks as well, and I’ve been telling them for a year, whether this case—whether we won or lost—we were going to have tariffs, the president’s policy was going to continue. That’s why they signed these deals even while the litigation was pending.”
Trump imposed sweeping baseline and reciprocal tariffs on nearly all U.S. trading partners last year. In some cases, rates exceeded 100 percent, including during a tit-for-tat trade dispute with China, where both nations raised tariffs on each other before reaching a tentative agreement.
Many other U.S. trading partners negotiated arrangements with Washington to secure lower tariff rates, which Trump has repeatedly argued are necessary to protect national security and address trade imbalances.
Greer said the administration expects its partners to uphold those agreements.
“We expect our partners to stand by them. And I haven’t heard anyone yet come to me and say the deal’s off. They want to see how this plays out. I’m in active conversation with them on it,” he said.
After the Supreme Court of the United States struck down the previous tariff program, Trump issued a 10 percent temporary tariff under economic emergency legislation. He also directed officials to begin new investigations under related statutes that could result in additional tariffs affecting multiple trading partners.
The following day, Trump raised the tariff level to 15 percent, the maximum allowed under that authority.
“This authority allows the president to go up to 15 percent,” Greer said. “And considering the severity of the issue we’re dealing with—which is a huge unfairness, huge disparity, huge imbalance between the United States and its trading partners—just the urgency of the situation demands that he use his full authority, which is to impose it.”
Greer added that Washington intends to honor its existing trade agreements.
On Feb. 21, the European Commission requested “full clarity” on the administration’s next steps following the Supreme Court’s ruling.
“The current situation is not conducive to delivering ‘fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial’ transatlantic trade and investment, as agreed to by both sides and spelled out in the EU-U.S. Joint Statement of August 2025,” the Commission said.
“A deal is a deal. As the United States’ largest trading partner, the EU expects the U.S. to honour its commitments set out in the Joint Statement—just as the EU stands by its commitments.
“In particular, EU products must continue to benefit from the most competitive treatment, with no increases in tariffs beyond the clear and all-inclusive ceiling previously agreed.”
The Commission added that it remains in continuous contact with U.S. officials, noting that EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič had spoken with Greer and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Saturday.
“We will continue to work towards lowering tariffs, as provided for in the Joint Statement,” the Commission said. “The EU’s priority is to preserve a stable, predictable transatlantic trading environment, while also acting as a global anchor for rules-based trade.”
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