The US leader has warned that rescinding his import duties would turn America into a “pathetic laughingstock,” as the Supreme Court considers their legality.
Donald Trump asserted that the United States possesses “all the cards” due to his imposition of tariffs, contending that without them, the nation “would once more be a poor and pathetic laughingstock.”
During April, Trump implemented extensive import tariffs impacting numerous countries globally, attributing these actions to supposed unfair trade deficits with other nations. He invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) as the legal justification for these steps. This legislation empowers the president to control or halt international trade and financial dealings during a declared national emergency involving external threats.
This policy has faced criticism from certain legislators, who contend that it might adversely affect the national economy.
Writing on his Truth Social platform last Saturday, Trump declared that “Tariffs have made our Country Rich, Strong, Powerful, and Safe…, and because of what I have set in place, WE HAVE ALL THE CARDS.”
The Republican cautioned that “Evil, American hating Forces are fighting us at the United States Supreme Court.”
Earlier in the month, Trump foresaw a “national security catastrophe” should his tariffs be reversed, estimating potential US losses exceeding $2 trillion.
Late last summer, the US Court of Appeals determined that Trump had exceeded his powers by implementing tariffs under the IEEPA, asserting that only Congress possesses the authority to sanction such actions. The court refrained from revoking the duties, awaiting a decision from the Supreme Court.
The exact timing of the Supreme Court’s decision remains uncertain, although some legal experts anticipate it by July 2026.
Concurrently, in his Thanksgiving address delivered on Thursday, Trump declared that “we will be cutting income tax, could be almost completely cutting it.”
During early November, the US president promised that “a dividend of at least $2,000 a person (not including high-income people!) will be paid to everyone,” to be financed by tariff proceeds.
Approximately at that period, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent informed ABC News that the tariff-funded dividend might materialize “in lots of forms,” such as tax reductions.