Trump Admin Confirms Backup Plan If Supreme Court Rules Against Tariffs

The Trump administration has a backup plan to keep its global reciprocal tariffs in place if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down how the current program is working, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said.

“There are many statutory delegations that Congress has granted to the president or … to agencies to take action,” Greer said during an event hosted by the Atlantic Council on Dec. 10.

Greer declined to elaborate on how the Trump administration would pivot.

“I’m under strict instructions from my general counsel not to reveal the backup plan,” Greer said.

The Supreme Court is reviewing whether the president overstepped his authority by using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose global tariffs earlier this year.

The nation’s highest court took the case after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled in a 7–4 decision that the policy was illegal.

The IEEPA, which became law in 1977, allows presidents to regulate imports after declaring a national emergency, but dozens of companies and states have sued the Trump administration over its tariffs.

Costco filed a complaint on Nov. 28 to ask for a refund on tariffs paid.

Greer was also asked how the government would refund companies if the Supreme Court were to rule against the Trump administration.

“It is a lot of money, and this is part of the reason why the president’s been so vocal about this case. Obviously, he wants to have the leverage that is afforded by IEEPA to be able to take care of the emergency we’re facing: offshore manufacturing and the deficit,” Greer replied, before joking that the refund topic should be a question for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

President Donald Trump has said national security would be weakened if the Supreme Court were to rule against his use of emergency economic powers.

“We have tremendous flexibility with the current system,” Trump told reporters at the Kennedy Center Honors on Dec. 7.

“It’s unbelievable for national security. I’ve ended eight wars largely because of trade, because of tariffs. If we go the other tariff route—and there are other routes we can go—but it won’t give you the same pure national security as this one. This one is swift and very powerful.”

The Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling in the coming months.

The U.S. government has collected $195 billion in tariffs for fiscal year 2025, which was a 150 percent increase from the money collected in 2024, according to a report by the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget on Oct. 27.

On Dec. 8, Trump said he was sending $12 billion in funds raised from the tariffs to American farmers who have been affected by the tariffs and trade disputes, particularly with China.