EU Demands US Honor Trade Pact Amid Trump’s New 15% Global Tariff Hike

The delicate truce in transatlantic trade has been pushed to the breaking point following a rapid-fire sequence of legal and executive maneuvers in Washington. On Saturday, President Donald Trump announced a temporary 15% global duty on all imports into the United States, a move that appears to be a direct response to a major setback in the domestic judiciary. Just one day prior, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling declaring much of the administration’s international tariff campaign illegal, specifically targeting the use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) as a mechanism for broad trade protectionism. By immediately pivoting to a new global duty, the White House has signaled its intent to bypass judicial constraints, albeit at the cost of diplomatic stability with its largest trading partners.

In Brussels, the reaction has been one of calculated indignation. The European Commission released a statement emphasizing that 'a deal is a deal,' referring to the bilateral agreement struck last year that established a 15% maximum ceiling on most European goods. While the new global duty matches that 15% figure, the EU’s concern lies in the loss of 'most favorable treatment' and the inherent instability of 'unpredictable' trade policy. The Commission is now demanding 'full clarity' on how the U.S. intends to reconcile its international treaty obligations with the Supreme Court’s ruling. The fear in European capitals is that the 15% cap, once viewed as a protective ceiling, is being transformed into a baseline for a broader, more aggressive protectionist era.

“

On Saturday, President Donald Trump announced a temporary 15% global duty on all imports into the United States, a move that appears to be a direct response to a major setback in the domestic judiciary.

The diplomatic fallout is already manifesting in legislative delays. Bernd Lange, the head of the European Parliament’s trade committee, has signaled that the committee may put all legislative work regarding the EU-US deal on hold. This is a significant escalation, as the committee was scheduled to formally approve the deal this coming Tuesday. If the European Parliament freezes the ratification process, the legal framework governing billions of dollars in annual trade will remain in a state of limbo, further exacerbating the 'uncertainty across international supply chains' that the Commission warned about on Sunday.

Communication channels remain open, but the tone is increasingly strained. EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic held urgent discussions on Saturday with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. While Greer has publicly stated that existing deals with the EU and China remain 'in force,' the lack of specific exemptions for EU products under the new 15% global duty suggests a discrepancy between Washington’s rhetoric and its actions. For market participants, this creates a 'jolt of uncertainty' that undermines the long-term planning required for complex manufacturing and logistics.

Looking ahead, the focus shifts to the U.S. Treasury and Commerce Departments to see if they will issue specific guidance that carves out EU products from the global duty. If the Trump administration maintains a blanket 15% rate without acknowledging the specific terms of last year’s Joint Statement, the EU may be forced to consider retaliatory measures or formal dispute resolution. Investors should watch for the outcome of the European Parliament’s political group meeting on Monday, which will determine if the trade deal is officially mothballed. The broader implication is a shift away from rules-based trade toward a system of executive fiat, where even Supreme Court rulings are met with immediate administrative workarounds.