The Supreme Court told the Trump administration its sweeping tariff regime was unconstitutional. The administration’s response, essentially: we’ll find another way.
On February 20, 2026, the Court ruled against the use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) as the legal foundation for Trump’s global tariffs. That decision knocked out roughly 70% of the tariffs the administration had imposed worldwide. And in the resulting power vacuum, one person has emerged with significantly more influence over the direction of US trade policy: US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
The legal pivot
Within two days of the ruling, Greer laid out the new strategy publicly.
“The legal tool to implement it, that might change, but the policy hasn’t changed.”
