Trump Warns Trade Deals May Be Unwound if Supreme Court Upholds Tariff Ruling
U.S. President Donald Trump has warned that the United States may need to "unwind" trade agreements with the European Union, Japan, South Korea, and others if the Supreme Court upholds a recent ruling that deemed many of his administration’s tariffs illegal.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said his administration plans to appeal a U.S. Court of Appeals decision that found several tariffs imposed during his presidency lacked proper legal authority. He expressed confidence that the Supreme Court would overturn the lower court’s ruling.
“We made a deal with the European Union where they’re paying us almost a trillion dollars... These deals are all done,” Trump said. “I guess we’d have to unwind them.”
These remarks mark the first time Trump has explicitly suggested that completed trade deals could be affected by the court’s decision — despite the fact that those deals were negotiated independently of the disputed tariffs.
Trump claimed that rescinding the tariffs would have a devastating impact on the U.S. economy, saying it could cause the country “to suffer so greatly.” He added, “Our country has a chance to be unbelievably rich again. It could also be unbelievably poor again.”
However, trade experts and economists have pushed back on these claims, noting that:
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The tariffs are paid by U.S. importers, not foreign companies.
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Such duties have been shown to fuel inflation domestically.
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The ruling does not affect other tariffs implemented under separate legal provisions, including those on steel and aluminum.
The appeals court ruling applies to the so-called "reciprocal" tariffs introduced during the trade war that began in April, as well as a second round of duties imposed in February on China, Canada, and Mexico.
Analysts believe Trump’s comments may be aimed at convincing the Supreme Court that overturning the tariffs could trigger economic instability, thereby strengthening his legal case for maintaining them.