Trump predicts 'ruination' if Supreme Court rules against his tariffs

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(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump won't attend arguments in a case before the U.S. Supreme Court challenging his tariff authority, but the U.S. president said if the high court takes away a power no other president has used, the nation will be defenseless and face "ruination."

Businesses and business groups are closely following the case, as are world leaders whose countries are coping with the chaotic rollout of the highest tariffs in nearly a century.

Trump's latest comments on the high-profile case come just days before oral arguments, which are set for Wednesday (Nov. 5) before the nation's highest court.

"Next week's Case on Tariffs is one of the most important in the History of the Country," Trump wrote in a social media post. "If a President is not allowed to use Tariffs, we will be at a major disadvantage against all other Countries throughout the World, especially the 'Majors.' In a true sense, we would be defenseless!"

Trump used the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs on every U.S. trading partner after declaring twin emergencies over fentanyl deaths and trade imbalances. No other president has used the law, which doesn't include the word "tariff," to impose tariffs.  

A group of Democrat-led states, five small businesses and two Illinois-based toymakers have challenged tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. They argue that Trump's interpretation of the law, which grants him immense emergency power, exceeds his executive authority and note that only Congress has the power to impose taxes.

The administration argues that Congress intended the law to grant the president broad powers to act during an emergency, and that the statute doesn't need to specifically mention tariffs because tariffs are the typical tool for addressing importation issues.

"Indeed, 'regulate importation' has been understood to encompass tariffs since the Founding," Solicitor General D. John Sauer wrote on behalf of the administration. "John Marshall, James Madison, Joseph Story, and others recognized that tariffs are a traditional – even quintessential – way to 'regulate' trade (and therefore importation)."

Trump credits tariffs with helping to bring about an American revival during his second term. 

"Tariffs have brought us Great Wealth and National Security in the nine months that I have had the Honor to serve as President," Trump wrote. "If a President was not able to quickly and nimbly use the power of Tariffs, we would be defenseless, leading perhaps even to the ruination of our Nation."

Trump said a Supreme Court loss would reduce the nation to "to almost Third World status." The U.S. has the largest economy in the world. Trump said he didn't want to attend Wednesday's arguments because he didn't want to "distract from the importance" of the decision.

"The only people fighting us are Foreign Countries who for years have taken advantage of us, those who hate our Country and, the Democrats, because our numbers are insurmountably good," Trump wrote on Truth Social." I will not be going to the Court on Wednesday in that I do not want to distract from the importance of this Decision. It will be, in my opinion, one of the most important and consequential Decisions ever made by the United States Supreme Court. If we win, we will be the Richest, Most Secure Country anywhere in the World, BY FAR. If we lose, our Country could be reduced to almost Third World status – Pray to God that that doesn't happen!"

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world's largest business federation, said in a friend-of-the-court brief in the case that businesses of all sizes were at risk.

"The economic and political consequences of ratifying the President's broad interpretation of IEEPA are profound and far-reaching, especially for American businesses," the attorneys wrote. "If the President's IEEPA tariffs remain in force, American businesses – large and small – will be irreparably harmed."

Last week, the U.S. Senate narrowly voted to end the national emergency Trump used to impose global tariffs. Four Republicans joined Democrats in the effort, which is largely symbolic because the U.S. House has agreed not to take up the issue until March.

In August, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed a previous lower court ruling saying Trump did not have the authority, but said Trump's tariffs could remain in place while the administration appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court. In the 7-4 decision, the majority of the Federal Circuit said that tariff authority rests with Congress.

A Supreme Court victory for Trump would solidify the federal government's newest revenue source, at least for now.

New tariffs raised $80.3 billion in revenue between January 2025 and July 2025 before accounting for income and payroll tax offsets, according to an analysis of federal data from the Penn Wharton Budget Model.

Trump has said he wants to use tariffs to restore manufacturing jobs lost to lower-wage countries in decades past, shift the tax burden away from U.S. families and pay down the national debt.

Economists, businesses and some public companies have warned that tariffs will raise prices on a wide range of consumer products.

A tariff is a tax on imported goods.