Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was optimistic about the Trump administration‘s legal case for the so-called reciprocal tariffs, saying he is “confident” the Supreme Court will rule in their favor.
The tariffs, which President Donald Trump announced back in April and were slow to take effect as he simultaneously secured trade deals with some of those countries, were recently declared unlawful by an appeals court, prompting an appeal from the administration to the highest court.
Opening arguments in the case are not likely until early November, but Bessent is already signaling the ruling will come down in Trump’s favor.
“I am confident that we will win at the Supreme Court. But there are numerous other avenues that we can take,” he said on Meet the Press.
Bessent underscored the national emergency that makes the increased levies lawful, citing the fentanyl crisis and the United States’s trade deficit.
“Thus far we have two kinds of tariffs. There’s fentanyl tariffs and the reciprocal tariffs. So I’m not sure on what planet this fentanyl crisis with 100,000, 200,000 Americans being killed every year with poison coming across the border. Why can the president not use tariffs to stop that? Two, on the reciprocal tariffs, we have reached a tipping point in terms of our trade balance. That is what has created the emergency situation,” he said.
In imposing the tariffs, Trump used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which effectively allowed the president to bypass Congress. The appeals court, however, ruled in late August that the IEEPA does not grant the president the power to levy tariffs, imperiling the levies.
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They will remain in effect until Oct. 14, but if the Supreme Court upholds the earlier ruling, it could see the Treasury Department issue rebates to countries affected by the tariffs.
Bessent said on Sunday that such a prospect would be “terrible” for the Treasury.
