U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was in North Texas on Friday when the Supreme Court released its ruling limiting President Trump’s ability to use emergency authority to impose reciprocal tariffs. He addressed the Economic Club of Dallas and said he was a little surprised by the ruling.
In an exclusive interview with CBS News Texas, Bessent said the decision means the administration can no longer use emergency authority to quickly impose tariffs on companies importing goods from other countries, but he stressed that existing tariffs remain unchanged.
President Trump has announced a new 10 percent global tariff on all imported goods. Bessent said the tariff will be added to existing tariffs – including those on foreign cars and steel – and will take effect in three days, lasting for five months.
Economic security remains a priority
Bessent also discussed the administration’s focus on economic security, pointing to last year’s fentanyl‑related tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as an example of how emergency authority previously allowed for rapid action.
“The overall tariffs, well, at the end of the day, will be unchanged,” Bessent said. “What I think is unfortunate here is that using that EPA authority, it gave President Trump the ability to quickly leverage tariff authorities. So, for instance, in the spring of last year, right after he came into office, President Trump announced fentanyl tariffs in Mexico, Canada, China. And we’ve seen a decrease in fentanyl deaths. So, you know, that was instantaneous. It won’t change the overall tariff trajectory. But what it will change is the instantaneous leverage that it gave the president.”
Despite the high court’s ruling, Bessent said he does not expect tariff revenues to decline.
“So at Treasury, we believe that the 2026 tariff take will be virtually unchanged,” Bessent said.
He attributed that to the new 10 percent global tariffs and the potential for the administration to increase tariffs under different authorities the president has.
The president also predicted there will be lawsuits filed against the administration by business owners seeking refunds for tariffs imposed under the emergency authority struck down by the Supreme Court.
“The Supreme Court pushed it back down to the International Trade Court,” Bessent said. “So, they haven’t told us that we do have to repay it. As Amy Coney Barrett said during the hearing that I was at, it will be a mess. But, we’ll see whether we have to repay. We will see what the duration of the repayment is. The full amount that we took in last year was about $130 billion. Treasury has more than $900 billion cash on hand.”
Promoting Trump Accounts program
Later in the day, Bessent traveled to Addison to promote the Trump Accounts program, which provides $1,000 for every eligible newborn. Children can access the money only after turning 18, and families, employers, and philanthropists can contribute up to $5,000 per child.
“The other reason for parents to open Trump accounts is that even if your child is not born during those four years, if you already have an existing family, all the children under 18 can have an account,” Bessent said. “Again, you can put tax free into those accounts $5,000. Employers and philanthropists can contribute to those, too.”
Bessent also praised the strength of the Texas economy, calling it a model for the nation.
