A recent United States Supreme Court ruling, which struck down several global duties previously imposed by President Donald Trump from the White House, has ignited a fresh wave of trade tensions and confusion across the globe. In response to the overturning of a central part of his trade policy, Trump announced new across-the-board tariffs of 15% on imports entering the American market, declaring his ability to use tariffs in a “much more powerful and obnoxious way.” This move has placed significant pressure on trading partners, particularly the European Union and the United Kingdom, who are now urgently seeking legal and operational clarity regarding their existing trade agreements with the US.

For the European Union, the situation is particularly delicate. The bloc is bound to Washington by a trade pact clinched in July 2025 by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Trump, which set tariffs on EU exports at 15% while committing the EU to slash its own duties to zero. EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič is actively engaged in addressing the fallout, having met with G7 trade ministers and scheduled a closed-door meeting with EU ambassadors to assess the latest developments. The EU's deputy spokesperson, Olof Gill, stressed that “full clarity on what these new developments mean for the EU-US trade relationship is the absolute minimum that is required.” Some EU member states, notably France, are contemplating the deployment of the bloc’s Anti-Coercion Instrument – a