U.S. Supreme Court Rules Trump Tariffs Unlawful — What of Cambodia's Trade Deal?

The United States Supreme Court ruled on February 20, 2026, that U.S. President Donald Trump had exceeded his authority and should have obtained congressional approval for the sweeping tariffs he placed on countries across the world, thus deeming these tariffs unlawful. 

Cambodia had initially been hit with a 49 per cent tariff in April of 2025, which was then reduced to 36 per cent in July and finally 19 per cent in August 2025, following several rounds of negotiations between senior officials from the Cambodian and U.S. governments.

The same night of the Supreme Court's ruling, President Trump took to social media to announce that he signed an executive order under Section 122 of the US Trade Act of 1974, enabling him to bypass Congress and impose a 10 per cent blanket tax on imports from around the world, starting on February 24. The next day, he announced that he raised the tariff to 15 per cent.  

Importantly, tariffs invoked under this law can only be imposed for 150 days, unless the U.S. Congress agrees to extend it. There is now the question of whether countries that had already signed trade deals with the United States, such as Cambodia, will still be subject to that agreed rate, or if they will be charged a 15 per cent tariff.

U.S. government trade representative, Jamieson Greer, however, stated on Fox News that U.S. imports from countries like Cambodia and Malaysia would continue to be taxed at their negotiated rates of 19 per cent, higher than the universal rate fixed at 15 per cent.

At present, it is still unclear how exactly the Supreme Court’s ruling and President Trump's new tariffs will play out. Countries across the world will need to remain on alert as uncertainty has been injected into global trade once again.