‘US is going to suffer greatly if…’: Trump ties America’s future to tariff case in top court

US President Donald Trump has said that if the Supreme Court overturns his tariff measures, the country will “suffer so greatly” and lose the “chance to be unbelievably rich again.”

While saying so, Trump expressed optimism over the top court’s ruling and said that the government will win the case.

He said, “We have a very very big case in the Supreme Court… Our country has a chance to be unbelievably rich again… If we don’t win that case, our country is going to suffer so greatly — but I think we’re gonna have a big victory.”

Last week, an appeals court ruled that most of his tariffs are illegal. However, the president’s Cabinet, including Bessent, tried to delay the court ruling by submitting statements that warned of serious implications of the order on US foreign policy.

The 7-4 decision by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington, DC, addressed the legality of what Trump calls “reciprocal” tariffs imposed as part of his trade war in April, as well as a separate set of tariffs imposed in February against China, Canada and Mexico aimed at halting imports of fentanyl.

Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said that the Trump administration has formulated a backup plan in case the Supreme Court does not uphold the president’s use of a 1977 emergency powers law to impose sweeping tariffs on most trading partners.

Bessent told Reuters, earlier this week, that he was preparing a legal brief for the US solicitor general, who will oversee the government’s appeal to the Supreme Court, that will underscore the urgency of addressing decades of trade imbalances and stopping the flow of deadly fentanyl into the United States.

Bessent said, “I’m confident the Supreme Court will uphold it – will uphold the president’s authority to use IEEPA. And there are lots of other authorities that can be used – not as efficient, not as powerful.”