The United States government has already collected tens of billions of dollars from President Donald Trump's "reciprocal tariffs."
But that money and a lot more could end up being refunded if the Supreme Court agrees with lower courts that many of the levies on imports from other countries are illegal.
Anywhere between $750 billion to a whopping $1 trillion, warned Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a declaration filed with the Supreme Court last week.
That eye-popping total could include the more than $72 billion in tariff revenue collected so far by U.S. Border and Customs enforcement since Trump's "Liberation Day" announcement, according to data as of Aug. 24.
It would also include money projected to be collected from the at-risk tariffs by next June.
"Unwinding them could cause significant disruption," Bessent told the Supreme Court.
Bessent's declaration was part of a request by the Trump administration to have the Supreme Court quickly rule the tariffs are legal, and not wait until next summer, the normal time frame for such a decision.
The sooner the court rules, the less money the government could be required to refund if a majority of justices find the tariffs to be illegal.
Refunding tariffs is not an unprecedented situation for the U.S. government. But the amount of tariffs the Trump administration could be forced to refund is.
Under former President Joe Biden, importers of some Chinese goods were granted refunds on Section 301 tariffs during a limited period, according to a 2022 Holland & Knight alert. But those refunds were relatively paltry.
Bessent said he is "confident" that the Trump administration will get the Supreme Court to reverse the lower court's rulings.
But if the Supreme Court says that refunds are required, "we'd have to do it," Bessent told NBC News' "Meet the Press" on Sunday. And that would be "terrible," he added.
Two lower courts have ruled Trump overstepped his presidential authority when he invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to justify imposing steep levies on virtually every U.S. trading partner.
Last week, the Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to reverse those decisions quickly.
Source: CNBC
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