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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that a Supreme Court ruling against President Donald Trump’s use of emergency tariff powers would be a “gigantic loss” for Americans, citing the policy’s role in pressuring China and other countries to negotiate.
“President Trump has used his IEEPA [International Emergency Economic Powers Act] authority consistently throughout the year to negotiate better deals for the American people,” Bessent said Sunday on “Sunday Morning Futures.”
“It’s an emergency authority, and what was an emergency if it wasn’t the fentanyl crisis? We are seeing Canada, Mexico, [and] China come to the table to stop this scourge of the American people,” he added.
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent testifies during the House Financial Services Committee hearing titled “The Annual Report of the Financial Stability Oversight Council” in the Rayburn House Office Building on Feb. 4, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Bessent pointed to an October confrontation with Beijing as an example of how the authority has been used, saying China backed away from threatened rare-earth export controls after the White House warned of steep tariffs that could have disrupted the global economy.
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The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 17, 2024. (J. Scott Applewhite, File/AP Photo)
He argued the emergency powers have given the administration critical leverage in negotiations, and warned that stripping the president of that authority would weaken America’s position at a time of heightened geopolitical competition.
“President Trump has used it for the American people, and it would be a big loss to take that away from him,” he told Maria Bartiromo.
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The Supreme Court heard arguments in early November 2025 and is anticipated to issue a decision on the legality of Trump’s emergency tariff authority later in 2026.
