Berlin, February 21 – Several major German business groups have welcomed a US Supreme Court ruling against President Donald Trump's tariff policy but have warned that uncertainty for companies persists.
"Even after today's ruling, although it may become more difficult for the United States to launch new tariff spirals at will, uncertainty for German companies operating in the US market remains high," Volker Treier, head of foreign trade at the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said in a statement on Friday (local time).
He urged the EU to be ready for possible new tariffs from the Trump administration, to ensure stable and reliable trade policy frameworks, to accelerate supply-chain diversification, and to support companies through trade agreements that open reliable markets with other partners.
The ruling sends a strong signal in favour of a rules-based trade order and against unilateral measures. However, persistent uncertainty will continue to weigh on multinational companies, making investment and supply-chain decisions more difficult, the Federation of German Industries said in a statement early Saturday.
"The practical impact of the ruling is not yet foreseeable, which adds to the continued uncertainty facing our companies," the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) said in a statement.
The VDMA added that a 15-per-cent tariff on EU imports could be reintroduced in the near term, noting that Trump still has other means to impose tariffs globally, reports Xinhua news agency.
Shortly after the ruling of the US Supreme Court against Trump's tariff policy, Trump signed an executive order to impose 10 per cent tariffs on imported goods from all countries, according to one of his social media posts on Friday.
The US Supreme Court ruled earlier on Friday that Trump's sweeping tariffs under a law meant for use in national emergencies are illegal.
In a 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court said that the tariff policies under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) are unconstitutional, officially striking down the global tariffs Trump has introduced since April.
