President Donald Trump has warned that a Supreme Court decision limiting his tariff powers would threaten US national security, as legal challenges and political divisions over his trade policies intensify.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday cautioned that a potential Supreme Court decision curbing his authority to impose tariffs would pose a major threat to US national security. Since November 5, the court has been reviewing the legality of his sweeping tariff policy, though it has not indicated when a ruling will be issued.
Several businesses and Democratic-led states have also challenged the measures in the US Court of International Trade, contending that the tariffs are unconstitutional because the power to levy them lies with Congress.
Trump wrote on social media that “the biggest threat in history to United States National Security would be a negative decision on Tariffs by the US Supreme Court”, insisting that the country would be left “financially defenseless” without the ability to act as he has. He argued that the US should not be restricted from doing what “others already do”, sharing a photograph of French President Emmanuel Macron taken during Macron’s recent visit to China.
Macron on Sunday threatened China with tariffs “in the coming months” if Beijing fails to address its large trade surplus with the European Union.
Economic pressures and political rifts grow
Trump maintained that “because of Tariffs, easily and quickly applied, our National Security has been greatly enhanced, and we have become the financially strongest Country, by far, anywhere in the World”. He added that “only dark and sinister forces would want to see that end”.
His approval ratings have fallen to their lowest level since he returned to office in January, with the cost of living emerging as a central concern for Americans who blame tariffs in part for rising prices. US inflation rose in September to 2.8 per cent year on year.
The tariff dispute has also divided the Maga movement. Former ally Marjorie Taylor Greene, who split from Trump in November, criticised him for failing to prioritise affordability.
Meanwhile, Costco last week became the largest and most prominent US company to challenge the tariff regime, a central plank of Trump’s strategy to confront what he views as a longstanding imbalance in US trade and to apply diplomatic pressure abroad. The company’s suit argues that the tariffs are unlawful.
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