The Supreme Court of the United States is currently viewing an appeal that was submitted by the Trump administration on September 3. The Trump administration reasoned that America would become a "poor nation" without the tariffs. It has been reported by the Department of Homeland Security reported that the reciprocal tariffs that first started going into place in April 2025 have totaled to $81.5 billion.
Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said on "Meet the Press" that if the Supreme Court rules that Trump is overstepping his presidential powers in these tariffs that "about half the tariffs" would be refunded back to the people. Bessent is confident that that the Trump administration will win at the Supreme Court. Bessent also made clear that there are also many other options and "other legal authorities" to continue to implement tariffs even if Trump does not win this case.
The impact of these tariffs are starting to reveal themselves. Job openings are currently fewer than unemployed people and the unemployment rate is the highest it has been in the past four years at 4.3%. The goods sector has also taken a rough hit. Economist Joe Brusuelas said that Goods businesses have posted four straight months of declines since May. Earlier this year, major companies like Nike, Walmart and Hasbro warned that these tariffs would lead to price hikes.
It will be interesting to see what the SCOTUS rules and whether there will be refunds on Trump's extremely controversial tariffs.
Link to Article: https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/07/business/tariff-rebate-supreme-court-bessent
The idea of refunds on half the tariffs is bold, and I wonder how that would even play out in practice. With job openings down and big companies already feeling the squeeze, this decision could seriously shake things up.
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