US treasury secretary Scott Bessent said the department would need to refund roughly half of the collected tariffs if the Supreme Court ruled that Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs exceeded presidential authority.
“We would have to give a refund on about half the tariffs, which would be terrible for the Treasury,” Bessent told NBC News.
“If the court says it, we’d have to do it,” he added.
Talking about alternative measures, Bessent said that they would “diminish President Trump’s negotiating position.”
A federal appeals, on August 29, court found that Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs exceeded presidential authority, ruling that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not permit the emergency tariffs he introduced earlier this year.
“We discern no clear congressional authorization by IEEPA for tariffs of the magnitude of the Reciprocal Tariffs and Trafficking Tariffs,” the court.
The decision has cast doubt on the Trump administration’s capacity to carry on with trade talks. In response, the administration appealed to the Supreme Court on Wednesday, cautioning that eliminating tariffs could leave the nation economically weakened.
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