Trump Won’t Outline Tariff-Replacement Plan Before Ruling: Full Q&A

President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office Thursday that he would not outline any new or replacement tariffs before the Supreme Court rules on tariff authority. The president also spoke about the deal with Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly to secure reduced prices for obesity drugs.

President Donald Trump said it would be “devastating for our country” if the Supreme Court struck down his administration’s sweeping global tariffs after key justices questioned whether he overstepped his authority during oral arguments Wednesday.

Trump said in an interview with Fox News that he had been told the case “went well” but warned that the “entire world would be in a depression” had he not been able to implement the levies on goods from trading partners.

“I think it’s one of the most important, maybe the most, but one of the most important cases in the history of our country,” Trump said.

The president went on to argue that he was able to force China to remove planned curbs on rare earths because of the threat of increasing tariffs on the country.

“That wasn’t a threat against us, that was a threat against the entire world,” Trump said. “I did this for the world.”

In a nearly three-hour hearing Wednesday, justices from across the ideological spectrum questioned Trump’s use of an emergency-powers law to collect tens of billions of dollars in tariffs a month.

A decision against Trump could force more than $100 billion in refunds, remove a major burden on the US importers that are paying the tariffs, and blunt an all-purpose cudgel the president has wielded against trading partners.

The US Supreme Court appeared skeptical of President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, as key justices suggested he had overstepped his authority with his signature economic policy.

In a nearly three-hour hearing Wednesday, the court hinted it was ready to put significant limits on Trump’s far-reaching agenda for the first time since he took office in January. Three members of the conservative majority questioned Trump’s use of an emergency-powers law to collect tens of billions of dollars in tariffs a month.

Chief Justice John Roberts said the tariffs were an “imposition of taxes on Americans and that has always been the core power of Congress.” Justice Neil Gorsuch also signaled he was a probable vote against the president, and fellow Trump appointee Amy Coney Barrett asked probing questions of both sides.

A decision against Trump could force more than $100 billion in refunds, remove a major burden on the US importers that are paying the tariffs, and blunt an all-purpose cudgel the president has wielded against trading partners. More broadly, it would be by far the Supreme Court’s most significant pushback against Trump’s assertions of powers that go well beyond those claimed by his White House predecessors.

The court’s three liberal justices — Justices Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson — also expressed doubt about the legality of the tariffs. A ruling could come as quickly as the end of the year, given the ultra-expedited schedule the Supreme Court has set so far.

“I came to oral argument thinking the administration had a pretty uphill climb, and I left feeling the same way,” said Adam White, a scholar who focuses on the Supreme Court and constitutional law at the American Enterprise Institute. “The far and away most likely outcome is that the administration loses this case.”

That would be a shift at a conservative-controlled court that has repeatedly backed Trump this year through temporary orders letting him implement new policies while legal fights go forward. The tariff case marks the first time the court directly considered Trump’s underlying assertions of sweeping presidential power.

--------

Watch Bloomberg Radio LIVE on YouTube

Weekdays 7am-6pm ET

Follow us on X

Subscribe to our Podcasts:

Bloomberg Daybreak

Bloomberg Surveillance

Bloomberg Intelligence

Balance of Power

Bloomberg Businessweek

Listen on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app:

Apple CarPlay

Android Auto

Visit our YouTube channels:

Bloomberg Podcasts

Bloomberg Television

Bloomberg Originals