‘The deals were not premised on whether or not the emergency tariff litigation would rise or fall,’ said U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
None of the U.S. trading partners that struck deals with the Trump administration have indicated intentions to withdraw after the Supreme Court last week struck down the majority of U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Feb. 22.
During an interview with CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” Greer said he had spoken with his counterpart from the European Union over the weekend, as well as officials from other countries.
“The deals were not premised on whether or not the emergency tariff litigation would rise or fall,” he said.
“So it’s totally normal for these countries to talk to each other, have meetings internally to determine this. But rest assured, I’ve been speaking to these folks as well, and I’ve been telling them for a year, whether this case—whether we won or lost—we were going to have tariffs, the president’s policy was going to continue. That’s why they signed these deals even while the litigation was pending.”
Trump imposed sweeping baseline and reciprocal tariffs on nearly all U.S. trading partners last year. Levels climbed higher than 100 percent in some cases, including during a tit-for-tat tariff war with China, where both nations imposed increasingly larger tariffs on each other until striking a tentative deal.
Many other U.S. trading partners negotiated deals with the United States to secure lower tariffs, which Trump has repeatedly stated are necessary for national security and balancing trade deficits.
Greer told CBS on Sunday that the administration expects its trading partners to stand by the deals.
“We expect our partners to stand by them. And I haven’t heard anyone yet come to me and say the deal’s off. They want to see how this plays out. I’m in active conversation with them on it,” he said.
After the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Trump’s previous tariff program, Trump on Friday issued a 10 percent temporary tariff based on economic emergency legislation. He also ordered new investigations under similar statutes, which officials have said could yield additional tariffs that impact many U.S. trading partners.
The following day, Trump raised the tariff amount to 15 percent, which is the highest level allowed under the law.
“This authority allows the president to go up to 15 percent,” Greer told CBS. “And considering the severity of the issue we’re dealing with—which is a huge unfairness, huge disparity, huge imbalance between the United States and its trading partners—just the urgency of the situation demands that he use his full authority, which is to impose it.”
He added that Washington would stick with its agreements with its trading partners.
The European Commission issued a statement on Feb. 21 requesting “full clarity” on the steps the Trump administration intends to take after the U.S. Supreme Court ruling last week.
“The current situation is not conducive to delivering ‘fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial’ transatlantic trade and investment, as agreed to by both sides and spelled out in the EU-U.S. Joint Statement of August 2025,” the commission said, adding, “A deal is a deal. As the United States’ largest trading partner, the EU expects the U.S. to honour its commitments set out in the Joint Statement – just as the EU stands by its commitments.
“In particular, EU products must continue to benefit from the most competitive treatment, with no increases in tariffs beyond the clear and all-inclusive ceiling previously agreed.”
The commission added that it is in continuous contact with the U.S. government, and said EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic had spoken with Greer and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Saturday.
“We will continue to work towards lowering tariffs, as provided for in the Joint Statement,” it said in the statement. “The EU’s priority is to preserve a stable, predictable transatlantic trading environment, while also acting as a global anchor for rules-based trade.”
By Jacob Burg
