U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Republican lawmakers who once questioned the administration’s use of tariffs have “now come around” to supporting its trade agenda, after a Supreme Court ruling struck down the use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) for trade levies. Greer cast the decision as a legal setback rather than a policy defeat, as the administration moved to invoke a different statute to impose a temporary import surcharge while accelerating other trade investigations. Whether congressional skeptics have truly shifted or are simply deferring to executive action remains an open question with direct consequences for American importers and consumers.
Greer Claims GOP Unity After IEEPA Setback
Speaking on ABC News’ “This Week” on February 22, 2026, Greer projected confidence that the Supreme Court’s decision to block IEEPA-based tariffs would not fracture Republican support for the broader trade strategy. He said GOP skeptics have “now come around,” framing the ruling as a procedural detour rather than a policy defeat and pointing to what he described as a shared desire “not to fight about trade” with the administration. That assertion stands in tension with the record. During Greer’s nomination process, senior lawmakers raised skepticism that IEEPA could legally authorize tariffs, and the committee debate highlighted sharp divides over the statute’s scope.
No named Republican senator or House member has issued a public statement confirming Greer’s characterization. Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, delivered an opening statement during Greer’s nomination process that highlighted earlier GOP doubts, noting that bipartisan concern about executive overreach on trade was well documented in the committee’s hearing record. Greer’s “come around” framing asks the public to accept a political conclusion without corroboration from the lawmakers themselves, a gap that matters because Congress retains the power to extend, modify, or block the administration’s next moves on tariffs. For import-dependent sectors already facing higher costs, the uncertainty over whether congressional Republicans truly back the strategy translates into real risk when planning contracts, pricing, and supply chains for the second half of the year.
Section 122: The New Legal Backbone
After the Supreme Court ruling, the administration activated a backup plan. The president signed an executive action invoking Section 122 of the Trade Act, imposing a temporary import surcharge to address what the White House called a “fundamental international payments” problem. The statute caps the surcharge at 15% ad valorem and limits its duration to 150 days unless Congress votes to extend it. That 150-day clock creates an automatic expiration point, meaning the tariff wall the administration is rebuilding has a built-in countdown that hands leverage back to Capitol Hill by midsummer and forces a fresh political debate just as companies are finalizing fall and holiday orders.
The speed of the pivot suggests the legal strategy was not improvised. In an official statement on the Supreme Court decision, Greer outlined a three-pronged approach: the Section 122 surcharge, initiation of multiple Section 301 investigations targeting specific trading partners, and continuation of existing Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum. The statement also cited specific deficit trend claims as justification for sustained trade pressure. For businesses that import goods, the practical effect is a layered tariff regime drawing on at least three separate legal authorities, each with different timelines, review processes, and vulnerability to court challenge. Trade lawyers are already parsing how these authorities interact, while industry groups weigh whether to litigate, lobby for exemptions, or pass along higher costs to consumers.
Greer Insists Trade Deals Remain Intact
Beyond domestic politics, Greer moved to reassure trading partners and markets that the legal turbulence had not destabilized existing agreements. He told international reporters that no countries have said they will withdraw from tariff deals already negotiated under the administration, emphasizing that the White House wants allies “not to fight about trade” while it retools its legal approach. On the same program, he said the administration would “reconstruct” its trade policy using other legal tools, a word choice that acknowledged the IEEPA ruling had dismantled part of the existing architecture while insisting the replacement was already underway. That message aims to calm concerns that the court’s decision could unravel a network of bilateral understandings built around the old tariff framework.
Greer repeated that message across multiple outlets. He told one British newspaper that U.S. tariff policy “hasn’t changed” despite the Supreme Court ruling, and that the United States would not pull out of deals. In separate comments to the same outlet, he argued that the administration’s willingness to lean on tariffs as an economic strategy remained intact even if the underlying statute had shifted, underscoring his view that partners should judge Washington by outcomes rather than legal citations. For foreign governments that negotiated market-access concessions or export quotas under the earlier framework, Greer’s assurances are meant to signal that their hard-fought arrangements will survive the legal transition.
Testing the “Durable Tools” Narrative
Greer has also tried to portray the administration’s alternative authorities as legally robust. In an interview recounted by a major U.S. newspaper, he described the back-up statutes as “very durable tools” and suggested that future court challenges would be less likely to succeed because Congress had explicitly authorized these mechanisms. The administration’s public stance is that Section 122, Section 301, and Section 232 rest on clearer delegations of power than IEEPA, making them safer foundations for long-term tariff policy. That narrative is designed to reassure both domestic industries that benefit from protection and international investors watching for signs of legal instability in U.S. economic policy.
Yet durability is ultimately tested in courtrooms, not on Sunday shows. While Section 301 and Section 232 have survived previous rounds of litigation, the Section 122 surcharge could face fresh legal scrutiny, leaving its resilience unproven. Legal scholars and trade practitioners are already debating whether the White House’s description of a “fundamental international payments” problem fits the statute’s intent or stretches it in ways that could invite judicial skepticism. If lawsuits emerge from importers or industry coalitions, judges will be asked to decide not only whether the administration complied with the letter of Section 122, but also whether its use as a broad substitute for IEEPA tariffs respects constitutional limits on delegating tariff-setting power to the executive branch.
What the 150-Day Clock Means for Congress
The most consequential detail in the administration’s pivot may be the one receiving the least attention: the 150-day statutory limit on Section 122 surcharges. Unless Congress passes legislation to extend the import surcharge beyond that window, the tariffs automatically expire. That deadline transforms what Greer is framing as executive decisiveness into a congressional question. If GOP lawmakers have truly “come around,” as Greer claims, the test will be whether they vote to keep the surcharges in place when the clock runs out. A failure to extend would amount to a quiet repudiation of the current strategy, while an extension vote would force members to take public ownership of higher import costs that could feed into inflation and consumer prices.
The countdown also reshapes lobbying dynamics in Washington. Export-oriented manufacturers and domestic producers facing foreign competition are likely to push for an extension or even expansion of the surcharge, arguing that the temporary tariffs buy time to address structural imbalances. Retailers, automakers, and technology firms that rely heavily on imported components can be expected to press for the opposite outcome, warning that prolonged surcharges will erode margins, delay investment, and ultimately hit household budgets. As Greer continues to insist abroad that U.S. trade policy “hasn’t changed,” the reality at home is that Congress now holds a decisive vote that will reveal whether Republicans truly back the administration’s reconstructed tariff wall or merely tolerate it as a short-term stopgap.
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*This article was researched with the help of AI, with human editors creating the final content.
Grant Mercer covers market dynamics, business trends, and the economic forces driving growth across industries. His analysis connects macro movements with real-world implications for investors, entrepreneurs, and professionals. Through his work at The Daily Overview, Grant helps readers understand how markets function and where opportunities may emerge.
