Scott Bessent on Sunday warned that a potential decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down most of President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs would deal a severe blow to the U.S. Treasury. (Watch the video below)
In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press,” the treasury secretary conceded that his department would have to offer some rebates in the event that the high court upholds a lower court ruling against the president’s signature economic policy, acknowledging that such an outcome would be bad news for the White House.
“We would have to give a refund on about half the tariffs, which would be terrible for the Treasury,” Bessent said.
“If the court says it, we’d have to do it,” he continued.
Still, Bessent appeared optimistic that the justices will ultimately side with Trump.
