Dear Sir or Madam,
Even if one has almost lost faith in it, there are still functioning institutions in the United States.
On Friday, the US Supreme Court rejected key tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. The court ruled that the White House could not use an old emergency law to impose ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on almost all trading partners last year. According to the ruling, tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada and China were also illegal.
The ruling was passed by a vote of 6 to 3. Three conservative judges rejected Trump’s argument despite their affinity for the tradition of a strong presidency.
Donald Trump now appears visibly shaken, and the Supreme Court’s ruling has dealt the US president a severe narcissistic blow, as was evident from his behaviour at the subsequent press conference in relation to his offensive remarks about the judges.
Trump initially wanted to impose tariffs of 10%, then 15% on Saturday, but this is only possible for a period of 150 days under the new legal basis that has been brought into play. Legal countermeasures are considered likely.
The US will almost certainly face a wave of lawsuits from affected companies in the coming weeks, with the total amount in dispute estimated at US$175 billion.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz now wants to fly to the US at the beginning of March, where this issue will also be on the agenda.
Last week, the German Chancellor once again clearly committed himself to carbon emissions trading systems, even if it is to be reformed. He is also counting on a redistribution of revenues through the creation of a ‘climate fund’ paid to the households to increase acceptance among the population while maintaining the steering effect.
Meanwhile, German Environment Minister Carsten Schneider is calling in Brussels for the chemical industry to be given more free emission allowances than previously planned. According to the SPD politician, the industry is under pressure worldwide, which is why more realistic guidelines for the allocation of emission allowances are needed in the short term.
This measure could relieve the chemical industry, but it should not be the only one. Schneider emphasised that emissions trading successfully combines climate protection and economic strength. Nevertheless, the framework conditions must be adjusted so that Germany and Europe remain competitive as chemical production locations. However, the total number of CO2 emission allowances is to remain unchanged.
All in all, the market for EU emission allowances responded positively to these political signals in the past trading week and, after bottoming out at around €69, closed higher for the first time since the third calendar week of 2026 on a weekly closing basis.
EUAs gained 4.4% and recovered above the psychologically important €70 mark on Wednesday after hitting a nine-month low of 68.11 in the benchmark contract on Monday.
The markets have not yet reacted to the 15% tariffs announced over the weekend, so this trading week is likely to be characterised by corresponding volatility.
| Instrument | 13/02/26 | 20/02/26 | Change |
| EUA (December-26-Future) | 70.68 EUR | 73.78 EUR | +3.10 EUR |
| EUA2 (December-28-Future) | 65.82 EUR | 66.64 EUR | +0.82 EUR |
| nEZ25 (national Emission Allowances (D)) | 55.00 EUR | 55.00 EUR | +0.00 EUR |
| UKA (December-26-Future (UK)) | 45.50 GBP | 47.62 GBP | +2.12 GBP |
| UK Natural Gas (December-26-Future) | 78.35 GBP | 80.98 GBP | +2.63 GBP |
| ICE Brent Crude Oil (December-26-Future) | 64.69 USD | 67.43 USD | +2.74 USD |
| EURO (Forex) | 1.1869 USD | 1.1728 USD | -0.0087 USD |
(EUA, EUA2, UKA, Natural Gas, Crude Oil and Euro Currency shows day-end-exchange quotes of the benchmark contract. This market information has just an informational character and are no advice or offer to trade emission allowances or their futures and options. If you want to unsubscribe, please reply to this mail.)
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With kind regards,
Your Advantag – Team