“And that’s not including the amount that countries and companies would demand as ‘compensation’ for the investments they are making in building plants, factories and equipment to avoid paying tariffs,” he said.
“If we add these investments, we would be talking about trillions of dollars! It would be total chaos, and almost impossible for our country to pay for,” he noted.
“In other words, if the Supreme Court rules against the United States on this matter of national security, we’re screwed!” Trump said.
The Supreme Court plans to issue opinions on Wednesday, and the tariff case, which was debated in November, could be among the rulings announced.
During oral hearings in the case, the justices were highly skeptical of Trump’s use of emergency powers to impose tariffs on nearly all of the United States’ trading partners, as well as levies on Mexico, Canada and China for their alleged involvement in drug trafficking.
Several of the six conservative justices, along with the three progressives, questioned whether the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) invoked by Trump allows him to impose tariffs.
The Supreme Court’s decision does not cover sectoral tariffs that Trump imposed separately, including those on steel, aluminum and automobiles.
Trump has raised the U.S. average effective tariff rate to its highest level since the 1930s, and has repeatedly warned of catastrophe if the tariffs are lifted.
