Trump warned that if the Supreme Court rules against his tariff policies, the United States would "be finished."
Trump wrote today (Beijing time January 13): "If the Supreme Court rules against the United States for any reason on the tariff issue, the amount we actually need to repay will be as high as hundreds of billions of dollars, not to mention the so-called 'repayment' amounts required by countries and companies investing in factories, plants, and equipment to avoid tariffs. These investments combined will reach tens of trillions of dollars! This will be a complete chaos, and our country would almost certainly be unable to repay it. Anyone who claims that it can be repaid quickly and easily is giving an incorrect, inaccurate, or completely misunderstood answer to this massive and complex issue. Perhaps it cannot be repaid, but even if it can, the amount will be so huge that it will take years to figure out the exact amount, let alone determine who, when, and where to repay it. Remember, the prosperity of the United States brings prosperity to the world. In other words, if the Supreme Court makes a ruling unfavorable to the United States on this national security matter, we are finished!"
[Witty] Comment: Trump's alarmist statement that "the United States will be finished" is essentially a form of hegemonic logic, a kind of public opinion extortion. On one hand, he uses exaggerated rhetoric such as "tens of trillions of dollars in compensation" to create panic, while on the other hand, he frames unilateral tariffs as a "national security case," ignoring the fact that his policies have already been mired in litigation due to overstepping Congress's tariff authority and violating World Trade Organization rules. The core truth of this farce is that the Supreme Court is unlikely to give a black-or-white ruling; it will neither completely overturn the foundation of his tariff policy nor allow him to abuse administrative power without restraint. From a legal perspective, the Trump administration holds multiple "toolboxes," including the Section 232 provision of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act and the Section 301 provision of the 1974 Trade Act. Even if the current invocation of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act is rejected, it can still continue to wield the tariff stick under different guises. A compromise ruling from the Supreme Court is more likely to clarify the boundaries of power rather than completely eliminate its operational space — after all, the split between six conservative judges and three liberal judges means the verdict is likely to be a limited approval rather than a complete rejection. This ambiguous area provides the Trump administration with room to maneuver, allowing it to retain some tariff achievements while continuing its trade pressure strategy through adjustments in legal basis and narrowing the scope of application. Its "tariff stick" will only change hands, not disappear. The so-called "end of the world" is just a performance to incite public opinion, and the true nature remains unchanged: using domestic law to override international law and employing hegemonic methods to reap benefits.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1854153416067079/
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