President Trump on Friday doubled down on his tariff agenda as the Supreme Court weighs its legality, suggesting that losing his ability to impose import taxes on trading partners “would be a terrible blow” to the country.
“Tariffs are an overwhelming benefit to our Nation, as they have been incredible for our National Security and Prosperity (like nobody has ever seen before!),” the president wrote on Truth Social. “Losing our ability to Tariff other countries who treat us unfairly would be a terrible blow to the United States of America.”
The Trump administration defended the president’s policies in front of the nation’s highest court in November, drawing skepticism from some justices, including Chief Justice John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch. The latter two were appointed by Trump during his first term.
Roberts and Justice Sonia Sotomayor raised the “major questions” doctrine during oral arguments, which holds that the executive branch cannot enact initiatives of economic or political significance when Congress has not explicitly granted it the authority to do so.
The president has cited the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, which allows him to regulate economic transactions amid a declared national emergency, in levying the steep tariffs.
The White House argued in April, when Trump imposed his “Liberation Day” taxes, that the country’s trade deficit, as well as immigration and fentanyl trafficking from Canada and Mexico, constituted national emergencies.
The high court is expected to issue an opinion on whether the president’s use of the IEEPA to impose tariffs is legal at the conclusion of its term this summer.
Trump has claimed that the import taxes will help reshore U.S. manufacturing production and ultimately expand the economy. But firms have passed on a share of the tariffs to consumers.
As of Nov. 17, American consumers faced an average effective tariff rate of 16.8 percent, the highest mark since 1935 and a 14.2-percent increase relative to early January, according to the Yale Budget Lab.
The president claimed last week that his tariffs have resulted in “no inflation.” Year-over-year inflation hit 2.7 percent in November, after sitting at 3 percent in January.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said last month, after announcing another interest rate cut, that the inflationary effects from the president’s tariffs may be a “one-time shift” if he does not hike them further, according to CNBC.