Goldman Sachs Predicts Trump Will Use Alternative Legal Mechanisms to Maintain Tariffs

Goldman Sachs analysts say President Trump is likely to pivot to alternative legal mechanisms to sustain tariffs on China and other countries, a finding laid out in an analysis released on February 20, 2026. The note directly challenges expectations that the tariffs will lapse after friction around a recent Supreme Court decision that has clouded executive tariff authority.

The analysis frames the Supreme Court development as a constraint on one route for maintaining trade barriers but not the end of tariffs. Goldman Sachs identifies a set of non-Article I and administrative pathways that the analysts say the administration could use to preserve duties, and the firm published its assessment on February 20, 2026 to clients and internal teams as trade-policy debate intensified in Washington.

Reaction to Goldman Sachs’ assessment has been visible across social platforms, where the firm’s release generated multiple high-engagement posts by market commentators and policy watchers on February 20, 2026. Those posts contrasted with commentary that had been predicting a rollback of tariffs after the Supreme Court move, and Goldman Sachs’ timing coincided with fresh hearings and committee briefings in Congress over U.S.-China trade policy.

The report’s timing and thesis carry concrete implications for desks at Goldman Sachs: traders in macro and commodity teams will be watching tariff signals on Chinese imports, while risk and compliance personnel will be monitoring regulatory filings tied to any administrative or statutory workarounds described in the analysis. Investment banking and client coverage groups with manufacturing and supply-chain clients exposed to China tariffs were circulated the note on February 20, 2026 to reassess transaction timing and hedging strategies.

Goldman Sachs framed its forecast as relevant to ongoing market pricing and to corporate planning for tariffs on China and other trading partners. The analysis, issued February 20, 2026, arrives as Capitol Hill debate continues and as market participants digest whether the administration will pursue the alternate legal routes Goldman Sachs says are available to maintain duties.