Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Wednesday said that if the Supreme Court strikes down a key portion of the Trump administration’s tariff regime it would be a “loss for the American people.”
Bessent spoke at the New York Times DealBook Summit and spoke about the Supreme Court’s hearings on the tariffs imposed by the president under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Federal courts struck down the IEEPA tariffs, prompting the administration to appeal to the Supreme Court.
He said that he’s “optimistic” about the administration getting a favorable outcome, though he warned that a ruling that strikes down the tariffs would ultimately hurt Americans.
“Everyone says it will be a loss for the administration. I think it’ll be a loss for the American people,” Bessent said.
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The treasury secretary emphasized that the IEEPA tariffs have helped the Trump administration negotiate trade terms as they seek to reshore manufacturing in the U.S. while also helping to address issues like fentanyl trafficking.
“I have been very consistent on this, the tariffs are a shrinking ice cube. The ultimate goal is to rebalance trade and to bring back domestic production,” Bessent said.
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“The IEEPA authority gave the president and our team much more negotiating room and they, let me tell you, there were plenty of other times and I said it several times, if IEEPA’s an emergency power, if the fentanyl crisis wasn’t an emergency… then what was?”
“Now, because of the fentanyl tariffs, the Chinese are making the first step forward that they’ve made in – and I don’t know when fentanyl came on the scene – but they are making a robust effort to do that,” Bessent said.
The treasury secretary was asked about President Donald Trump’s comments that the amount of tariff revenue collected could allow income tax rates to be lowered significantly and whether he plans to proceed with that plan.
“We’ll have to wait on the ruling,” Bessent replied. “We’ll see where it goes.”
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Bessent also discussed the potential impact of businesses seeking refunds for tariffs they paid in the event of the Supreme Court striking down the IEEPA tariffs as illegal, noting that Costco filed a lawsuit in the international trade court.
“I just saw that Costco is going to file for a refund. Okay, tell me what kind of refund Costco is due. If the foreign producer lowered their price, they’ve taken a deduction, right? They’ve taken a deduction on having paid the tariffs,” he said.
Costco’s lawsuit argues that the IEEPA law doesn’t give the president authority to impose or increase tariffs, therefore the company is due a refund of the tariffs it paid.
The company argues that it’s facing a Dec. 15 deadline for when its import entries are finalized or “liquidated” as those amounts become locked, which could prevent importers from being able to challenge or recover those charges.
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