In a move that quietly rattled global markets on Monday, the U.S. dollar eased after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the bulk of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff program, a ruling traders interpreted as a boost for worldwide economic growth, even as geopolitical unease capped the reaction.
The dollar’s decline was modest but noticeable in early Asia trading, with the euro climbing about 0.4% to $1.1823 and the British pound rising to roughly $1.3521. Against the yen, the greenback slipped about 0.4% to 154.42.
At the heart of the market shift was the Supreme Court’s determination that the president had overstepped his authority in imposing the tariffs, a ruling that Bloomberg tracked traders said could ease pressure on global supply chains and improve growth prospects abroad.
But instead of backing down, Trump fired back by levying a blanket 15% tariff on imports, insisting existing high-tariff arrangements with trading partners must remain intact, a tactic that has left economists and investors scratching their heads.
“It weakens the dollar in the sense that it potentially benefits non-U.S. growth,” said Sim Moh Siong, currency strategist at OCBC Bank in Singapore.
Yet the longer-term picture remains cloudy: analysts warn that litigation over whether importers should be refunded for duties they already paid could drag on for years, and that confusion over replacement levies will likely persist.
U.S. partners in Europe and Asia have urged Washington to respect earlier trade agreements including tariff-free arrangements on certain products while markets brace for further policy twists.
