The U.S. Supreme Court's determination to strike down tariffs applied under a law intended for national emergencies has curbed the administration's leverage, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Friday. Speaking on "The Will Cain Show" on Fox News, Bessent said the ruling both constrains and sharpens the President's options.
"The Supreme Court has taken away the President’s leverage, but in a way, they have made the leverage that he has more draconian because they agreed he does have the right to a full embargo," Bessent said on the program.
Bessent indicated the administration would still be able to return to prior tariff levels for affected countries, but through a different process. "We will get back to the same tariff level for the countries. It will just be in a less direct and slightly more convoluted manner," he said.
President Donald Trump reacted to the court’s decision on Friday by saying he would invoke other laws to collect tariffs. He also announced a blanket 10% tariff on imports from all other countries.
On international commitments, Bessent expressed confidence that nations would abide by trade agreements reached with the administration over the past year. "He (Trump) has a right to a complete embargo, he can just cut countries off ... or he can cut whole product lines off. We can’t receive any money. So, I would call on all countries to honor their agreements and move forward," Bessent added.
Taken together, the exchanges highlight the immediate legal and policy choices facing the administration: a narrower legal route to impose tariffs under the emergency law, the possibility of pursuing alternative statutory authorities, and the stark option of a full embargo acknowledged by the Supreme Court.
While Bessent framed the court action as a reduction in diplomatic leverage, he emphasized that the court's recognition of an embargo power represents a more severe lever that the President could, in theory, use.
Summary takeaways and implications are constrained to the statements above. The public record in these remarks focuses on the legal standing identified by the court, the administration's announced response, and Bessent's view on compliance with existing trade agreements.