The Supreme Court is set to rule on the authority of President Donald Trump’s national security and trade-related tariffs, but Trump warned that U.S. national security would be "screwed" if the tariffs were unwound.
"Remember, when America shines brightly, the World shines brightly," Trump said in a detailed Truth Social post Monday afternoon. "In other words, if the Supreme Court rules against the United States of America on this National Security bonanza, WE'RE SCREWED!"
Trump has used tariffs to rebalance global trade and pressure global adversaries and allies on ending foreign wars, but a case before the Supreme Court could threaten to limit presidential authority by arguing the tariffs amount to a tax on the American people that must be approved by Congress.
"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," Trump's Truth Social post began, "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."
"When these Investments are added, we are talking about Trillions of Dollars!
"It would be a complete mess, and almost impossible for our Country to pay."
While Trump has enjoyed a booming economy and 5.4% GDP growth in the most recent quarter, he has acknowledged that tariff calculations are amorphous.
"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 in his post.
"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."
Supreme Court justices heard arguments over Trump's tariffs Nov. 5 after lower courts said Trump exceeded his authority to impose tariffs on foreign imports.
A decision could come any day after the Supreme Court announced it would not issue a ruling last Friday.
While the Trump administration is hopeful the Supreme Court will rule in its favor in litigation testing the legality of the president's sweeping global tariffs, it is also exploring what could be done if the court rules against it, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said Friday.
"Our expectation is that we're going to win, and if we don't win, then we know that we've got other tools that we could use that get us to the same place," Hassett said in a televised interview.
He said the administration held a call Thursday night with senior officials to discuss possible next steps.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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