Trump Ready to Pivot If Court Overturns Tariffs, Aide Says
No Supreme Court Decision Came Down Jan. 9
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Donald Trump’s administration is ready to use other authorities to quickly reimpose tariffs if the Supreme Court strikes down the president’s global levies, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said.
“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 can use that get us to the same place,” Hassett said Jan. 9 in a CNBC interview.
In another interview on Fox Business, Hassett said the administration “absolutely” has a backup plan ready to go that would allow levies to be put “back into place almost immediately, should the Supreme Court rule against us.”
The Supreme Court held an opinion day Jan. 9, its first opportunity of the year to rule on the legality of the president’s sweeping levies imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Butno decisionon the trade policy came.
Kevin Hassett says, "Our expectation is that we're going to win." (Al Drago/Bloomberg)
The court could release more opinions in the next two weeks, as the justices have returned from their holiday break. The ruling is expected to affect Trump’s so-called reciprocal duties and charges related to fentanyl.
READ MORE:If Supreme Court Strikes Tariffs, Wall Street Doubts Refunds
Hassett said there was a high-level call Jan. 8 among Trump officials to discuss a backup plan in case of an unfavorable ruling. The justices signaled in oral arguments late last year they were skeptical of the president’s tariff regime. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer is expected to spearhead Plan B efforts, Hassett said.
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“There are a lot of other legal authorities that can reproduce the deals we’ve made with other countries and can do so basically immediately,” he said.
Hassett didn’t fully specify which authorities the administration would use to replace any tariffs that get knocked down, but told Fox Business that Section 301 powers are one option under consideration. That path is generally more time-consuming than the process used under the emergency law. Officials have also said they are looking at Section 122 of the Trade Act, which allows the president to unilaterally impose duties. But those are capped by length and maximum rate.
