President Donald Trump has a plan for an instant strike back if the Supreme Court rules against his tariffs, according to a report Monday.
In an interview with The New York Times, the United States Trade Representative Jamieson Greer — Trump's top trade negotiator — revealed that the president intends to impose tariffs no matter what. And even if the high court's ruling does not favor his current trade policies, he has readied actions to put levies in place to replace them "almost immediately."
Even if the Supreme Court rules his tariffs unconstitutional in its ruling, which could come as soon as Tuesday, Trump has plans to add new tariffs to “start the next day” and “to respond to the problems the president has identified," Greer told The Times.
Trump has leaned on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a 1977 law, to justify his use of global tariffs issued on U.S. trade partners throughout his first year in office. The Supreme Court will determine if his authority could be revoked.
“The reality is the president is going to have tariffs as part of his trade policy going forward,” Greer said.
The Supreme Court justices could also side with Trump and allow him to continue his policies, including his move to initiate "numerous international emergencies to swiftly raise and lower tariffs on trading partners for a variety of reasons," according to The Times.
Trump has claimed that his tariffs have focused on preventing the flow of illegal narcotics into the U.S., decreasing trade deficits and using the levies to address foreign policies. His actions have been criticized as a "brazen misuse of the emergency statute."
