In a late-night Truth Social post, President Donald Trump appeared jittery about a Supreme Court ruling on his trade war — warning that lifting the tariffs he imposed could cost the country more than $3 trillion.
A day earlier, Trump said the losses from reversing tariffs — or an “unwind” — would be $2 trillion. It’s unclear where the extra $1 trillion came from.
In any case, the president is now claiming the high court has been given “the wrong numbers.”
“It would not be possible to ever make up for that kind of a ‘drubbing,’” he wrote in the early hours Tuesday. “That would truly become an insurmountable National Security Event, and devastating to the future of our Country – Possibly non-sustainable!”
Trump’s anguish likely stems from the Supreme Court justices last week appearing deeply skeptical about whether Trump has the authority to impose sweeping import taxes without congressional approval under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
A ruling in the case is expected early next year.
Trump is likely to be unperturbed on his tariff agenda even if the court pushes back. Trade experts have said he can return to the powers he used in his first term or explore others potentially at his disposal.
Tariffs have become the bedrock of Trump’s foreign policy in his second term, with double-digit “reciprocal” tariffs imposed on most countries, which he has justified by declaring America’s longstanding trade deficits a national emergency.
When Trump returned to office in January, the average U.S. tariff stood at 2.5%. But that figure has since soared to 17.9%, a high not seen since the 1930s, according to an analysis by Yale University’s Budget Lab.
Trump has of late been touting how each American will receive at least $2,000 from tariff revenues, though it’s unclear how such a handout would work.
Tariffs windfalls aside, the duty is helping push up U.S. grocery prices, with items such as coffee, bananas, sugar and seafood among the hardest hit.