If the US Supreme Court rules against President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs, the treasury has more than enough funds to pay for the tariff refunds, treasury secretary Scott Bessent said. The timeline of payments, however, might extend to weeks or even a year, he told Reuters.In an interview, Bessent said he doubted the court would rule against Trump’s tariffs, but suggested that any refunds could become a “corporate boondoggle” for companies that passed on the costs to their customers.
“It won’t be a problem if we have to do it, but I can tell you that if it happens – which I don’t think it’s going to – it’s just a corporate boondoggle,” he said.“Costco, who’s suing the US government, are they going to give the money back to their clients?”Bessent added that, in general, companies had not been passing tariffs on to consumers, stating there was “very, very little, if any, pass-through,” and disputed that Trump’s tariffs had contributed to inflation. He noted that goods inflation had remained below headline inflation.Importers and trade lawyers had expected a Supreme Court ruling on Friday, but the court issued a decision on a different matter instead. It remains unclear when the court will rule on the tariff case, which challenges Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose broad tariffs on nearly every U.S. trading partner.Bessent said he believed that the longer the decision is delayed, the more likely the Supreme Court will rule in Trump’s favour.With nearly $774 billion in cash as of Thursday, the treasury has more than enough to cover any refunds. Treasury borrowing estimates for January-March 2026 project an end-March cash balance of around $850 billion.“We’re not talking about the money all goes out in a day. Probably over weeks, months, may take over a year, right?” Bessent told Reuters.He also indicated that Treasury budget data for calendar year 2025 would likely show a deficit reduction of $300 billion to $400 billion from 2024, providing additional capacity. The government reported a fiscal-year deficit of $1.775 trillion for 2025, which ended on 30 September.Importers have warned that recouping any tariffs paid could be difficult if the Supreme Court finds Trump’s IEEPA-based duties illegal. According to Customs and Border Protection data, $133.5 billion in such tariffs had been assessed through 14 December, with the total likely approaching $150 billion, based on Reuters calculations.Bessent disputed this estimate, saying it was “not the number” for tariffs potentially subject to refunds. He noted that revenues from tariffs imposed under other legal authorities also existed, but did not provide a specific figure for IEEPA-based tariffs.
