Editor’s Note
This article highlights the tension between executive action and judicial oversight, as President Trump announces new tariffs despite a Supreme Court ruling. French President Macron’s recent remarks on democratic checks and balances provide timely context for this development.
Emmanuel Macron: “It’s good to have checks and balances in democracies”
Despite the Supreme Court’s decision, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Friday evening a global 10% tariff that will take effect on February 24.
The setback for Donald Trump’s tariff policy is not just legal
A few hours before the Supreme Court ruled a large part of his tariffs illegal on Friday, February 20, data published by the Commerce Department hinted at their first negative effects on U.S. growth.
Emmanuel Macron’s reaction
“I think this invites everyone to reflect,” said Emmanuel Macron on Saturday, the day after the Supreme Court’s decision.
“It seems good to have Supreme Courts and a rule of law. It looked at the Constitution, it says this is not in accordance with the Constitution. It’s good to have checks and balances in democracies. We should welcome this,” continued the head of state on the occasion of the inauguration of the Agricultural Show.
“Then, we must not go too fast either, because I note that President Trump, a few hours later, said he had taken up texts to have new tariffs, more limited, but for everyone. So we will look exactly at the consequences, what can be done and we will adapt.”
“And fundamentally, what do we want? To continue to export our agricultural products, our luxury goods, our fashion, our cosmetics, our aeronautics, everything we are good at exporting. We want to continue to reindustrialize the country and do it with the fairest rules possible. It’s about reciprocity and not suffering unilateral decisions. So, if this helps to pacify things, it’s good,” he added.
Censored by the Supreme Court on tariffs, Donald Trump confronted with the limits of his power
Emmanuel Macron, à l’occasion de l’inauguration du Salon de l’agriculture, à Paris, le 21 février 2026.MANON CRUZ/REUTERS
“They are very unpatriotic and disloyal to our Constitution,” asserted the magnate, speaking of “shame” and “embarrassment for their families.”
After the Supreme Court’s decision on tariffs, the world again plunged into uncertainty
From the United Kingdom to the European Union and Mexico, the United States’ trading partners reacted cautiously to the setback inflicted on Friday, February 20, by the Supreme Court on Donald Trump, when it declared a large part of the tariffs he had established illegal. Following this decision, the American president imposed a new global 10% tax, which replaces the so-called reciprocal tariffs imposed on a multitude of countries in April 2025.
New tax takes effect on February 24
According to a White House statement, the executive order signed by Donald Trump imposing a new global 10% tariff will take effect on February 24, for a duration of one hundred and fifty days, with exemptions for certain sectors, notably the pharmaceutical industry, as well as for goods entering the United States under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
This new rate also applies to countries or blocs that have signed trade agreements with Washington, such as the European Union, Japan, South Korea, or Taiwan, which had, for example, accepted a maximum surcharge rate of 15%.
