Some key world trade partners and national leaders embraced theSupreme Court's rulingon Feb. 20 thatPresident Donald Trumphas no authority to enforce sweeping globaltariffs.
The high court's decision to strike down the president's signature economic policy was met with hopes that it would help lower costs globally, and also in the United States.
Trump said he was "deeply disappointed" with the high court's ruling. In response, the president said he would immediately impose 10% temporary tariffs to replace the emergency tariffs the court overturned.
Meanwhile, Dominic LeBlanc, Canada's top official in charge of U.S.-Canada trade matters, said ina lengthy Feb. 20 post on Xthat the Supreme Court's ruling "reinforces Canada's position that the IEEPA tariffs imposed by the United States are unjustified."
"Although Canada has concluded the best trade agreement with the United States among all its trading partners, we recognize that there is still much to be done to support Canadian businesses and workers who continue to be affected by the tariffs imposed under Section 232 on the steel, aluminum, and automotive sectors," LeBlanc said.
As a result of the ruling, the federal government would have to refund about $175 billion in tariffs that were collected without congressional authorization, according to a Feb. 20 projection bythe Penn Wharton Budget Modelat the University of Pennsylvania.
The Supreme Court ruled that Trump wasn't authorized to impose tariffs underIEEPA, the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The emergency tariffs account for about half of what the government collects in tariffs.
"Unless replaced by another source, future tariff revenue collections will fall by half," the Penn Wharton Budget Model said.
The Penn Wharton report said that Customs and Border Patrol provides publictrade statistics, which are updated semi-regularly. The Penn report said CBP reported that it collected approximately $133.5 billion in tariffs under the IEEPA authority, according to its last update on Dec. 14.
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Canadian trade official supportsSCOTUSruling on tariffs
LeBlanc'spost on Xcomes two days after he'sreportedlyscheduled to meet with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington, "in the coming weeks" after a scheduled Canadian trade mission to Mexico.
LeBlanc's announcement also came after a phone call he had with Greer after the U.S. trade czar publicly mentioned potential barriers to bilateral trade talks, including issues regarding Canadian imports of American wine and spirits.
LeBlanc added in hisFeb. 20 X postthat Canada would still work to support businesses facing tariffs under other statutes that remain in place.
"As relations between Canada and the United States undergo a period of transformation and we approach the first joint review of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, we are working to create growth and opportunities on both sides of the border, while strengthening our collaboration with reliable trading partners and allies around the world," LeBlanc said.
EU monitoring Trump, still wants low tariffs
The European Union said ina pair of postson X it is closely watching the Trump administration's next moves after the Supreme Court decided to strike down the president's tariffs.
"We take note of the ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court and are analysing it carefully," European Commission Deputy Chief Spokesperson Olof Gill said. "We remain in close contact with the U.S. Administration as we seek clarity on the steps they intend to take in response to this ruling," Gill said.
In a second post, Gill added, "Businesses on both sides of the Atlantic depend on stability and predictability in the trading relationship. We therefore continue to advocate for low tariffs and to work towards reducing them."
Separately, Bernd Lange, the chair of the EU parliament's international trade committee,wrote on Xthat the Supreme Court ruling was a "positive signal for the rule of law."
"Judges have shown that even (a) US president does not operate in a legal vacuum," Lange said.
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He also wrote that "the era of unlimited, arbitrary tariffs" may soon "be coming to an end."
Lange said the European Union's parliament "must now carefully evaluate" the ruling and its consequences. He said the EU will hold an emergency meeting Feb. 23 regarding the trade deal Trump made with them last year "in order to assess possible implications."
The EU parliament has spent several months fully implementing the terms of the trade deal that would have lowered tariffs for U.S. and European businesses.
However, what the global leaders are publicly saying and doing privately may be two different matters, as Trump still wants to impose tariffs,Rob Lalka, a business professor at Tulane University, told USA TODAY.
"Although the Supreme Court is the law of the land, many of these tariffs are tied to other trade regulations and could be tied to other future actions taken by the White House and the administration," Lalka said. "It's important not to react to the final word, because I don't think it will be."
Lalka said world leaders and trade partners should breathe too much of a sigh of relief.
"Prices aren't going to go back to what they were before this, and the diplomatic relations aren't going become automatically restored overnight like a wild dream we woke up from," Lalka said. "America's reliability as a trade partner in terms of clarity and consistency won't be the same because nobody knows what tomorrow may bring."
US Chamber of Commerce hails Supreme Court decision
Despite possible murkiness, theU.S. Chamber of Commercesaw the Supreme Court's ruling as "welcome news for businesses and consumers."
"We encourage the administration to use this opportunity to reset overall tariff policy in a manner that will lead to greater economic growth, larger wage gains for workers, and lower costs for families," Neil Bradley, the chamber's chief policy officer, said in a statement. "Swift refunds of the impermissible tariffs will be meaningful for the more than 200,000 small business importers in this country and will help support stronger economic growth this year."
Bradley said the chamber has been working with small and midsize businesses nationwide that have seen significant cost increases and supply chain disruptions as a result of the tariffs. The group filed anamicus briefin the case on behalf of small businesses suing the Trump administration.
"We encourage the administration to use this opportunity to reset overall tariff policy in a manner that will lead to greater economic growth, larger wage gains for workers, and lower costs for families," Bradley said.
Gavin Newsom and Rand Paul poke Trump
CaliforniaGov. Gavin Newsom, a Trump nemesis and possible 2028 presidential candidate,reposted a post on Xfrom his press office's account, criticizing the president, and raised a probing question maybe on the minds of millions of Americans after the Supreme Court's tariff ruling.
"CALLED IT! Trump's tariffs were ILLEGAL from day one," the post said. "An unconstitutional tax — and now it's dead. WHEN IS TRUMP GOING TO REFUND EVERY DAY AMERICAN PEOPLE THE $1,700 HE ILLEGALLY TAXED THEM?"
Newsom, whospoke defiantly of Trump at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland,last month, later said ina separate X poston Feb. 20 that it is "Time to pay the piper, Donald."
"Your tariffs were nothing more than an illegal cash grab that drove up prices, hurt working families, and wrecked longstanding global alliances," Newsom said. "Every dollar your administration unlawfully took needs to be immediately refunded — with interest."
Meanwhile, RepublicanSen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who occasionally pokes at the Trump adminstration, also said ina post on Xthat "the Supreme Court struck down using emergency powers to enact taxes."
"This ruling will also prevent a future President such as AOC from using emergency powers to enact socialism," Paul said.
In anotherX post, Paul said that the Supreme Court makes plain what should have been obvious. "The power to impose tariffs is 'very clearly a branch of the power to tax.'"
USA TODAY's Bart Jansen contributed
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Canada, Europe react to Supreme Court ruling on Trump tariffs
