The United States Supreme Court is set to announce a tariff case ruling on Thursday, December 11, which has drawn significant attention from the market. The outcome of the ruling could impact President Trump’s trade policies, corporate tax refunds, and federal fiscal revenue, sparking further debates.
According to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, if the Supreme Court upholds the lower court’s decision that the President cannot invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose reciprocal tariffs, declaring the tariffs null and void, the government will resort to other laws and measures to collect $200 billion in tariff revenue anew.
Greer stated, “I am confident that we can still generate the necessary revenue through other tools targeting unfair trade.”
Highlighting the substantial and vital amount of tariff revenue collected by the United States, Greer mentioned that due to many companies importing goods ahead of time to avoid tariffs, the country’s overall trade deficit was higher than the previous year. However, since August, the deficit has significantly decreased.
Looking at the long term, Greer believes that the U.S. Congress should establish new trade rules. He declined to disclose specifics about government contingency plans.
When asked by the media about the timing of when businesses could receive tax refunds if the Supreme Court rules tariffs invalid, Greer stated that it would be determined by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Greer mentioned that he had met with the CBP Commissioner on Tuesday, October 9, but the exact timeline remains uncertain.
Expressing the U.S.’s interest in developing a pragmatic relationship with China, Greer stated that if the tariffs continue at their current pace, the U.S.-China trade deficit for this year is expected to decrease by approximately 25%. He pointed out that U.S. manufacturing investments are steadily rising, with further increases anticipated next year. Given the higher wages in U.S. manufacturing, the country should not overlook the outsourcing of production lines for items like pencils and toys.
Greer declined to comment on the potential national security implications of President Trump approving Nvidia’s export of the second-highest level AI chip to China.
Regarding the issue of EU regulating U.S. technology companies, Greer mentioned that Washington is still discussing how to regulate tech companies, emphasizing that the regulatory standards for U.S. companies would not be dictated by the EU.
“We will not outsource this regulation, so I hope to engage in constructive discussions with our EU partners. If there are individuals or certain countries within the EU actively supporting these measures, perhaps that can be understood; but they are not, and that is the real issue,” Greer said.
President Trump addressed this matter in an interview with Politico this week, expressing concerns over the alleged unfairness in the case of social media company X being fined €120 million on December 5 for violating the EU’s Digital Services Act.
(Adapted from Reuters report)