New Delhi: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said the government will issue partial refunds if the Supreme Court strikes down the sweeping tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump on nearly all US trading partners.
Speaking on NBC’s Meet the Press, Bessent said, “We would have to give a refund on about half the tariffs, which would be terrible for the Treasury. If the court says it, we’d have to do it.” He added that while there are “numerous other avenues” to impose tariffs, they would weaken Trump’s negotiating leverage.
National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, in a separate interview with CBS News, said the administration has “other legal authorities” available to continue tariffs if the Supreme Court rules against them, citing Section 232 investigations — previously used to justify steel and aluminium tariffs — as one possible option.
The comments follow President Trump’s request last week for the Supreme Court to quickly overturn a lower court ruling that declared many of his tariffs illegal. In late August, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled 7-4 that Trump exceeded presidential authority when he imposed tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), arguing that such measures constitute a “core Congressional power.”
Earlier in May, the Court of International Trade also declared the tariffs unlawful.
The administration warned in its Supreme Court filing that delaying a final ruling until mid-2026 could leave as much as $750 billion to $1 trillion in tariffs collected — potentially creating significant economic disruption if refunded.
“The stakes in this case could not be higher,” Solicitor General John Sauer wrote in Wednesday’s filing.
According to US media reports, businesses have already paid more than $210 billion in tariffs deemed illegal by courts as of August 24. If the Supreme Court upholds the lower court’s ruling, the Treasury may have to return much of that money.
Trump justified the tariffs by declaring a national emergency in April, arguing that trade imbalances threatened domestic manufacturing and national security.
