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Trump: ‘We’re Screwed’ If SCOTUS Rules Against Wide-Ranging Tariffs
President Donald Trump made his argument for keeping his far-reaching “reciprocal tariffs” on Monday and said that the United States would be “screwed” if the Supreme Court rules against his unprecedented trade policy.
The Supreme Court could release its highly anticipated decision on the tariff case as soon as Wednesday, but it remains unknown when exactly the court will rule on the Trump administration’s emergency appeal. Trump said that a ruling against his administration would force the United States to pay back “hundreds of billions of dollars.”
“The actual numbers that we would have to pay back if, for any reason, the Supreme Court were to rule against the United States of America on Tariffs, would be many Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and that doesn’t include the amount of ‘payback’ that Countries and Companies would require for the Investments they are making on building Plants, Factories, and Equipment, for the purpose of being able to avoid the payment of Tariffs,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The United States collected around $200 billion in tariff revenue last year, largely thanks to Trump’s tariffs, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Trump has used his so-called reciprocal tariffs to pressure companies to manufacture products in the United States to avoid his hefty import taxes. He argued that, taking foreign investments into account, the repercussions of a ruling against his tariffs could result in trillions of dollars no longer going into the U.S. economy.
“It would be a complete mess, and almost impossible for our Country to pay. Anybody who says that it can be quickly and easily done would be making a false, inaccurate, or totally misunderstood answer to this very large and complex question,” Trump added. “It may not be possible but, if it were, it would be Dollars that would be so large that it would take many years to figure out what number we are talking about and even, who, when, and where, to pay. Remember, when America shines brightly, the World shines brightly. In other words, if the Supreme Court rules against the United States of America on this National Security bonanza, WE’RE SCREWED!”
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, however, said that the United States wouldn’t have a problem paying tariff refunds, but he added that it would be “a corporate boondoggle.”
“Costco, who’s suing the U.S. government, are they going to give the money back to their clients?” Bessent asked.
During oral arguments in November, some of the conservative justices who Trump will need to side with him appeared skeptical of the president’s authority to impose his global tariffs. The case centers on questions around the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and whether Trump’s tariffs should be considered a tax.
Trump’s Solicitor General, John Sauer, argued before the court that national emergencies related to the fentanyl crisis and America’s declining industrial base justify Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs. The court’s liberal justices appeared to side with the plaintiffs in the case, which are a group of American businesses. The businesses argue that tariffs act as taxes on the American people, and only Congress has the authority to levy taxes.
Conservative Justices John Roberts, Neil Gorsuch, and Amy Coney Barrett also expressed skepticism about some of the Trump administration’s arguments.