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Trump gov't would start replacing reciprocal tariffs immediately if Supreme Court rules against them: USTR

Published: 20 Jan. 2026, 09:20

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House on April 2, 2025, in Washington. [AP/YONHAP]

If the Supreme Court undoes U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping global tariffs, his administration would begin replacing them immediately, U.S. Trade Rep. Jamieson Greer told a media outlet.

Greer made the remarks in an interview with The New York Times on Thursday, as the high court could rule as early as this week on the legality of Trump's use of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose country-specific "reciprocal" tariffs on Korea and other trading partners.

Following any court loss, the Trump administration would "start the next day" to reconstitute tariffs "to respond to the problems the president has identified," Greer was quoted by the daily as saying.

Greer also said that he and other advisers had given Trump "a lot of different options" to achieve Trump's trade objectives at the beginning of the second Trump administration — remarks suggesting that the president might resort to other legal means to impose the global tariffs should the court strike down IEEPA-based tariffs.

Business leaders, policymakers and others have been awaiting the tariff ruling as it could have an impact on global trade and America's fiscal situation.

The Trump administration has imposed 15 percent reciprocal tariffs on Korean products, down from 25 percent, in accordance with a bilateral trade and investment deal under which Seoul has committed to investing $350 billion in the United States, among other pledges.

If the tariffs are struck down, companies might seek refunds on the tariffs they have paid.

In August, a federal appeals court ruled that the IEEPA tariffs in question exceeded presidential authority, affirming a lower court's decision in May.

During oral arguments in November, justices expressed skepticism over the legality of the tariffs in question.

Trump has warned that losing his administration's ability to tariff countries that treat the United States unfairly would be a "terrible blow" to the country.

He also said that if the high court rules against the global tariffs, the United States may have to pay back "many hundreds of billions of dollars," and that the total amount could rise to "trillions of dollars" when countries and companies call for a "payback" for the investments they have made in the United States to avoid tariffs.

The top court has announced that it will convene a public session to hear two oral arguments on Tuesday, raising speculation that it could rule on the tariff case as early as this week.

Yonhap