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Retailers Win Tariff Relief on Supreme Court Ruling
Posted
February 23, 2026
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4:46Now PlayingGap, Aritzia and Urban Outfitters are among apparel retailers that should see margins expand, with the US' global tariff set at 15% -- vs. an average 20% for the sector -- after the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump's sweeping levies. Trump revised the blanket rate less than a day after announcing a 10% level, and is expected to pursue higher tariffs on China under Section 301. Bloomberg's Mary Ross Gilbert joins to discuss her research on the retailer sector and how tariffs are effecting certain brands. The Supreme Court’s nixing of US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is throwing fresh confusion over the raft of trade deals negotiated by global partners as the inescapable reality of ongoing levies remains a threat.
The European Union on Monday froze the ratification process of its agreement with Washington. The move injected economic turbulence into an already strained transatlantic relationship.
Without mentioning the EU specifically, Trump warned nations against taking advantage of his legal setback.
“Any Country that wants to ‘play games’ with the ridiculous supreme court decision, especially those that have ‘Ripped Off’ the U.S.A. for years, and even decades, will be met with a much higher Tariff, and worse, than that which they just recently agreed to,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Read More: Trump Vows Higher Tariffs for Nations That ‘Play Games’ on Deals
Meanwhile, Indian trade officials postponed a trip to the US that would have aimed at concluding their interim accord.
The Trump administration swiftly announced plans to replace the prior tariffs with a new, across-the-board 15% levy on US imports. While that creates temporary winners such as China and losers including the UK, it leaves the overall weighted tariff rate only marginally lower for the American businesses and consumers actually footing the bill.
US stocks traded lower and the dollar erased a 0.3% drop as the renewed uncertainty weighed on sentiment. But moves were modest when compared with the dramatic swings seen last April when Trump’s unilateral tariffs were first announced, setting off months of deal-making.
Now, whether a new status quo settles quickly will largely depend on what America’s trading partners do after administration officials called on them to honor prior trade pledges.
Read More: China, India Among Winners After US Court Blocked Trump Tariffs
Any walk-back from prior agreements, especially given recent European pushback over Trump’s bid to gain control over Greenland, risks sparking a fresh round of brinkmanship and disruption for a world economy that has so far been muddling through Trump Trade War 2.0.
“Uncertainty is back, and given the latest muscle-flexing by European leaders, the risk of escalation is now higher than it was a year ago,” Carsten Brzeski and James Knightley at ING Groep NV wrote in a note. “Announcements since the Supreme Court’s ruling strongly confirm that Trump has no intention of removing his ‘most beautiful word’ from the English dictionary.” Senior US officials said the tariff defeat at the Supreme Court won’t unravel deals negotiated with US partners. The new import taxes will be based on Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act, which allows the president to impose tariffs for 150 days without congressional approval under specific circumstances, including “large and serious” balance of payments deficits.
Read More: Trump Pegs New Tariffs to a Payments Crisis Economists Doubt
“The Supreme Court decision may appear to be a major blow to the administration’s tariff policies, but its trade agenda can be pursued through other avenues,” said Mike Reid at RBC Capital Markets.
That means little relief for US companies and consumers paying the levies. Economists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. including David Mericle estimate that the combination of the Supreme Court ruling and the newly announced Sec. 122 tariff will reduce the increase in the effective tariff rate since the start of 2025 from just over 10 percentage points to 9 percentage points.
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