U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Sunday that the White House expects to “stand by” the trade deal agreements it has signed with its partners despite the Supreme Court’s Friday ruling that could disrupt the Trump administration’s tariff policy.
“We expect our partners to stand by them,” Greer said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.” “And I haven’t heard anyone yet come to me and say, ‘the deal’s off.’ They want to see how this plays out.”
The Supreme Court wrote in its opinion on Friday that President Trump does not have the authority to impose unilateral tariffs on almost all of its trading partners under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a 1977 federal emergency powers law.
Greer said the nations that had already struck deals with the U.S. prior to Friday’s ruling “were not premised on” the decision of the Supreme Court, adding that “whether [the administration] won or lost, we were going to have tariffs.”
“So even though the Supreme Court struck down tariffs under one authority, tariffs under other national security elements remain in place,” Greer said. “Tariffs under what we call Section 301 related to unfair trading practices remain in place.”
Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling, Mr. Trump announced Friday at the White House that he was imposing a 10% global tariff under Section 122. He later raised that rate to 15% “based on a thorough, detailed, and complete review.”
“During the next short number of months, the Trump Administration will determine and issue the new and legally permissible Tariffs, which will continue our extraordinarily successful process of Making America Great Again,” he wrote on Truth Social.
But tariffs under Section 122 cannot last more than 150 days unless Congress approves an extension. The statute also requires that tariffs be limited to 15% of a product’s value.
“And during that time, we’re going to conduct investigations that can allow us to impose tariffs if it’s justified by the investigation,” Greer said Sunday. “So we expect to have continuity in the president’s tariff program.”
But Greer admitted that the administration does not “have the same flexibility that IEEPA” had provided.
“We have series of hearings, we have public comment, we consult with the other countries, and then we try to resolve the unfair practices, we identify, and if they’re not resolved, you can take actions like tariffs or other things to try to resolve them,” Greer said.
The administration’s tariff policy had bipartisan opposition in Congress. On Feb. 11, six Republican representatives joined the Democrats to block Mr. Trump’s tariffs on Canada, a largely symbolic move. But Greer claimed those Republican members “vote against [Mr. Trump] on everything” and that their vote is not “representative” of the party.
Greer argued that Congress had “already pre-approved” several authorities under which the president can impose tariffs, although that is not clear.
“We’ll just use the congressional authorities they’ve extended already for now,” he said.
In a separate appearance Sunday on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said that the administration’s response to the ruling “shakes the whole equilibrium” as European countries have abided by the April and July trade agreements, arguing that it could “bring about disruptions in the business.”
“It’s the same with trade,” Lagarde said. “It’s the same with investment. You want to know what the rules are, and you want to avoid having to, you know, come back and claim tariffs back.”
Lagarde said consumers had not “avoided the pain” because some businesses had tried to absorb additional tariff costs, and she didn’t think that would last
“But there is a point where you don’t squeeze your margins so much, and you have to pass it on to the consumers,” Lagarde said. “I think this is what we are.”
