US trading partners cautiously welcomed the tariff ruling

US trading partners on Friday (Feb 20,2026) cautiously welcomed a Supreme Court ruling striking down US President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, saying Canada’s tariffs have always been “unfair”.

But as soon as the decision was announced, Mr. Trump has vowed to impose a 10% tariff on all imports into the United States under special authority.

Although the conservative-majority Supreme Court ruled that Trump lacked the authority to impose tariffs through the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), Mr. The ruling does not affect the sector-specific tariffs imposed by Trump.

Governments are weighing how all this will affect trade with the world’s largest economy, which has been transformed by Mr Trump’s exercise of executive power since he took office a year ago.

Here’s how governments around the world have responded:

Canada

Canadian International Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said the ruling reinforces Ottawa’s position that the levies are “unfair.”

But he noted that the tariffs that will cause the most pain in Canada — sector-specific measures affecting the steel, aluminum and auto industries — are in place.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce cautioned against viewing the court’s decision as a “reset of US trade policy.”

“Canada must prepare for new, blunter mechanisms used to reassert trade pressures with broader and more disruptive effects,” Chamber President Candace Laing said in a statement.

European Union

EU trade representative Olof Gill said the 27-nation bloc was closely analyzing the ruling.

“We are in close contact with the US administration for clarity on the steps they intend to take in response to this ruling,” he said, stressing the need for “stability and predictability” in trade.

French Finance Minister Roland Lescure said the ruling showed tariffs were “at least, open to discussion”.

The German government said AFP It is “in close contact with the US government to get clarifications on the next course of action.”

German industry group BDI was upbeat, with board member Wolfgang Niedermark saying the ruling was “clear proof that the separation of powers is still going strong in the USA”.

United Kingdom

Britain’s government said it hoped its “special trading position with the US” would continue.

The close allies reached a trade deal last May that lifted tariffs on UK steel and aluminum products and cut tariffs on British car exports from 27.5% to 10%.

“We will work with the administration to understand how this ruling will affect tariffs for the UK and the rest of the world,” a government spokesman said.

Mexico

Mexico, which sends 80% of exports to America, after the court ruling Mr. It said it was studying the possible effects of the 10% general tariff announced by Trump.

“First, we’re going to see what measures they take to determine how this will affect our country,” Mexican Finance Minister Marcelo Ebrard said.