US President Donald Trump told German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on March 3 that the terms of ongoing trade agreements could be tightened. Trump reckons that foreign trade partners want to keep the deals, but Washington is going to tweak them somewhat upward. If they all want to stay in the deal, the US could do that pretty easily.

The remark came after the US Supreme Court ruled on February 20 that the tariffs introduced by Trump were unconstitutional. In a 6–3 vote, the judges concluded that the IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act) does not grant the president authority to impose tariffs. In response, Trump announced the same day a new 10% global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. The next day, he voiced the intention to raise it to 15%.

The European Commission has determined that the new global tariff is being added on top of already valid duties, pushing total levies above 15% for some goods and violating the trade agreement with the EU. Interestingly, Kyle Shostak, director at Navigator Principal Investors, noted that Donald Trump has sufficient legal tools to continue his tariff policy regardless of the Supreme Court’s decisions.