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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says it is “very unlikely” that the Supreme Court will strike down President Trump’s tariffs, seconding legal experts who’ve argued that the justices’ delay in ruling on the issue improves the odds the levies will remain in place.
“I believe that it is very unlikely that the Supreme Court will overrule a president’s signature economic policy,” Bessent told NBC’s “ Meet the Press” on Sunday.
“They did not overrule Obamacare. I believe that the Supreme Court does not want to create chaos,” he explained.
The high court is expected to hand down its ruling on the legality of Trump’s tariffs by the end of its term — possibly as soon as this week.
The case centers on Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, which lower courts ruled does not clearly authorize tariffs.
Analysts told the financial news site MarketWatch last week that the justices’ repeated delays in issuing a decision may signal internal debate — especially about possible rebates to parties that have paid levies if the policy is found to be unconstitutional, and whether refunds would apply retroactively.
In June, the Supreme Court upheld a key Affordable Care Act provision that requires insurers to cover certain preventive services at no cost — rejecting a constitutional challenge to the panel that recommends those benefits.
The ruling marked another high-profile instance of the court declining to dismantle a central piece of Obamacare, even with a conservative majority.
As the Supreme Court deliberates, Trump has continued expanding tariffs, announcing new levies on several European countries tied to negotiations over Greenland.
The president said Saturday on his Truth Social platform that he would impose fresh tariffs on imports from Europe until “a Deal is reached for the Complete and Total purchase of Greenland.”
Beginning Feb. 1, tariffs on goods from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland will start at 10%, according to the president.
On June 1, those tariffs will escalate to 25%, he added.
Bessent defended those threats, telling “Meet the Press” on Sunday: “The national emergency is avoiding a national emergency.”
“It is a strategic decision by the president … he is able to use the economic might of the US to avoid a hot war.”
European leaders have threatened to retaliate with levies on American imports, including US-made livestock, whiskey and aircraft parts.
Greenland is an autonomous, self-governing territory that is considered a part of Denmark, which has said it has no intention of selling the island.
Trump recently told Norwegian leaders that his not receiving the Nobel Prize freed him from “an obligation to think purely of Peace,” according to The Wall Street Journal.
Norway’s government has insisted it has no say in who wins the Nobel Peace Prize.
Trump’s saber-rattling on Greenland has sparked a furor in the European Union.
“Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral. We will continue to stand united and coordinated in our response,” the leaders of Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom said in a joint statement Sunday.
“We stand in full solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland. Building on the process begun last week, we stand ready to engage in a dialogue based on the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that we stand firmly behind.”
The Post has sought comment from the White House.
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