Greer Says Possible Tariff Court Loss Won’t Impact Plans
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A top administration official signaled confidence that President Donald Trump’s trade plans will survive even if the sweeping global tariffs that pushed other countries to the negotiating table are ultimately deemed illegal.
“The reality is, the countries understand the type of leverage that President Trump has created,” U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Aug. 1 on Bloomberg Television. “That’s why they’re doing these deals, and they’re going to stick regardless of what happened in litigation.”
Greer’s comments come a day after a high-stakes appeals court hearing in Washington, where a majority of an 11-judge panel expressed skepticism about whether Trump had the authority to bypass Congress and issue the tariffs under an emergency law.
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A ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit could take weeks, and the Supreme Court is likely to have the final say.
Greer said the administration feels “very confident in the case” and that a loss in court wouldn’t deter the U.S. from pushing through with its tariff plans, much of which were laid out in an executive order late July 31.
“I’m not going to go deep into our strategy here, mostly because we’re pretty confident on the current plan, but we will do whatever it takes to make sure that the president can continue to rectify the trade deficit and change the global trading system,” said Greer, a lawyer who served as chief of staff to ex-Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer during Trump’s first term.
Trump issued his tariffs by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, after declaring the U.S. trade deficits a national emergency. The law grants the president authority over a variety of financial transactions on an emergency basis.
A group of Democratic-led states and small businesses are challenging the tariffs, arguing that Trump wrongfully used IEEPA and that Congress never intended for the law to be used in such a manner when it was passed nearly 50 years ago.
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The trade court sided with the challengers and said Trump’s IEEPA use was unconstitutional. But the ruling was paused during the appeal, allowing Trump to press ahead with his tariff plans.
Greer said he’s confident on Trump’s use of IEEPA, which does not mention tariffs. The U.S. argues that the broad terms in IEEPA allow the president to “regulate importation” during national emergencies should be read to allow Trump to unilaterally impose levies.
“If there’s still questions coming out of the Federal Circuit or further litigation that goes to the Supreme Court, we’re confident there that this statute clearly says the president has the authority to regulate imports,” Greer said.
