Trump Urgently Appeals to Supreme Court: If Defeated, May Have to Return Trillions of Dollars in Tariffs

U.S. President Donald Trump stated that his administration would file an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court in an attempt to overturn a federal court ruling that deemed his imposition of most tariffs as illegal. Trump emphasized that this move is crucial for maintaining the integrity of his trade policy.

Trump told reporters,The government will file an appeal to the Supreme Court on Wednesday local time.Because if the ruling of the appellate court is allowed to take effect,"Will cause devastating blows to our country"“We will go to the Supreme Court tomorrow (Wednesday) to ask for an expedited decision,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Tuesday. “We need to get a ruling as soon as possible.”

Trump's statement stems from a decision by the U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals last Friday: Trump erroneously invoked emergency laws in the imposition of the so-called "reciprocal tariffs." These tariffs targeted imports from dozens of trade partners, including additional duties on goods from China, Canada, and Mexico under the pretext of combating cross-border fentanyl trafficking.

However, the judge allowed these tariffs to remain in effect during the case review.

This ruling injects new legal uncertainty into the Trump administration's trade agenda, potentially impacting trillions of dollars in global trade."The stock market is down because the market needs tariffs—they want tariffs."Trump said. However, the market generally believes that corporate debt sales and budget concerns in developed countries are the main driving factors for this round of stock market sell-off.

Last Friday’s ruling upheld the earlier decision by the U.S. Court of International Trade, finding that Trump exceeded his statutory authority when invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The appellate court judges stated that the lower court should reconsider whether the tariffs in question should be entirely prohibited, rather than only for the parties who filed the lawsuit.

The White House could have first let the International Trade Court rehear the case, instead of directly appealing to the Supreme Court — the latter mostly supports Trump on other matters.

Last Friday's ruling was just the latest twist in the tariff advancement process, which had previously experienced multiple delays, reversals, and legal challenges, injecting uncertainty into Trump's agenda and prompting businesses, investors, and trade partners (many of whom had struck deals with Trump seeking lower tax rates) to urgently seek clear signals. Following the announcement of the federal appellate court ruling, the exchange rate of the US dollar fell against the majority of G10 currencies.

Trump heavily relied on emergency powers to implement import tariffs and on April 2nd defended comprehensive country-specific tariff measures in the Rose Garden by invoking the IEEPA."If the tariff appeal is rejected, I will have to withdraw the tariffs. If the tariff ruling is unfavorable to us, we will have to refund trillions of dollars. The tariff ruling has no legal basis at all. If the tariffs are removed, we may ultimately become a third world country."

“We would have to return trillions of dollars to the country that has been ‘exploiting’ us for the past 35 years—I can’t imagine this would be legally justified,” Trump said.

However, in fact, it should be noted that it is the American importers who pay the tariffs, not the foreign governments.

If the courts ultimately overturn these global tariffs, the Trump administration can still impose taxes through other legal avenues, including imposing import taxes on specific industries such as semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and wind turbines under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act (which allows the President to regulate imports deemed a threat to national security), or authorizing the U.S. Trade Representative to impose tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act on countries that "discriminate against American companies or violate the rights of international trade agreements."

Trump has previously announced tariffs on imported steel, aluminum, copper, and automobiles.