Bessent Defends Trump’s Emergency Tariff Powers Ahead of Supreme Court Ruling

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News’ 'Sunday Morning Futures' that it would be a 'gigantic loss' for Americans if the Supreme Court rules against President Donald Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose emergency tariffs. Bessent argued Trump has 'consistently' used IEEPA‑based tariffs to force better deals from China, Canada and Mexico, framing the fentanyl crisis as the core 'emergency' justifying those powers and pointing to an October showdown in which Beijing backed off threatened rare‑earth export controls after the White House warned of steep retaliatory tariffs. He said the emergency authority has given Washington crucial leverage in trade and security talks and warned that stripping it would weaken the U.S. in a period of intense geopolitical competition. The Supreme Court heard arguments over Trump’s emergency tariff moves in November 2025 and is expected to issue a decision later in 2026, a ruling that legal scholars note could sharply constrain or reaffirm the modern presidency’s ability to weaponize trade law without Congress. Bessent’s comments, coming as markets watch tariff policy and Dow 50,000 milestones, underscore how the administration is campaigning in public to preserve a controversial tool that critics on legal and financial‑markets forums call an abuse of emergency statutes for long‑running policy fights.