Trump has a major warning for nations that 'play games' with US trade deals: 'Beware'
Trump threatened to use different laws to punish countries that back away from negotiated deals.
Feb. 24 2026, Published 6:23 a.m. ET
Following the Supreme Court's decision to strike down U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, he warned countries on Monday against "playing games" with the recently negotiated trade deals. Taking to his social media platform, Truth Social, the President said he would impose legally secure higher duties under different trade laws if any country tries to back away from the deals. The warning came in a series of social media posts after several countries around the world announced they were re-evaluating the tariffs and trade deals that would stand following the Supreme Court's decision.
"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. BUYER BEWARE!!!" President Trump wrote in his post, following the chaos that ensued after the Supreme Court ruled the tariffs illegal. The court said Trump was not authorised to impose the duties using the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), making $175 billion in revenue subject to refunds, as per Reuters.
The administration responded to the ruling by announcing a new 10% global tariff, which was later increased to 15%. The duty went into effect on Tuesday, with a few products exempted. Following the ruling, several countries said they remained uncertain of the status of recently negotiated deals. On Monday, the European Parliament postponed a vote on the European Union's trade deal with the U.S. Chair of the European Parliament's International Trade Committee. Bernd Lange said they had suspended the approval of the deal, which was announced in July as the EU sought more clarity. "The situation is now more uncertain than ever," he told the BBC.
Similarly, the U.K. on Monday said it was in dialogue with U.S. officials seeking clarity on whether the deal under which the U.S. lowered tariffs to 10% would still hold, as Trump raised the universal tariff to 15%."I recognise the uncertainty the latest announcement from the US has created," UK Business and Trade Secretary Peter Kyle said in a statement, adding that their country had "all options" on the table to protect businesses and the public, as per BBC. Meanwhile, India also stated it would defer previously scheduled talks, which were due to finalise a trade agreement.
On the other hand, the White House has insisted on maintaining its approach to trade despite the ruling. The collection of the new 15% tariffs has begun under Section 122 law that allows the president to impose duties for up to 150 days to address "large and serious" balance-of-payments deficits and "fundamental international payments problems." The order argued that the U.S. faced a serious balance of payments deficit of about $1.2 trillion in trade. Furthermore, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Reuters that the administration is going to open a new Section 301 for unfair trade practices investigations on several countries, and it will allow the U.S. to threaten new tariffs.
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