Trump’s Trade Plans Will Survive Even If Court Rules Against Tariffs, Says US Trade Representative

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Friday that President Donald Trump’s trade plans will move forward even if the appeals court ultimately deems his recently announced sweeping tariffs illegal.

“The reality is, the countries understand the type of leverage that President Trump has created,” Greer told Bloomberg. “That’s why they’re doing these deals, and they’re going to stick regardless of what happened in litigation.”

Trump’s revamped tariff plan and Friday’s weak jobs report were already weighing on the U.S. stock market in midday trade. The S&P 500 dropped more than 1.3%, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dipping by 1.7% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) down 1.15%. 

The corresponding ETFs, the SPDR S&P 500 (SPY), SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA), and Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 (QQQ), were also in the red. QQQ was the worst hit, down 1.5%, followed by SPY dipping 1.3% and DIA falling 1.14%. 

The U.S. dollar index (DXY) dropped 1.17% and the 10-year treasury yield slipped 0.13%. The VIX, a market-volatility index often dubbed the fear gauge, shot higher, gaining as much as 17%. 

Greer said the Trump administration is “very confident in the case,” and even if they lose, it would not keep the U.S. from pushing its tariff plans forward. “I’m not going to go deep into our strategy here, mostly because we’re pretty confident on the current plan, but we will do whatever it takes to make sure that the president can continue to rectify the trade deficit and change the global trading system,” he said.

Greer’s comments came after a high-stakes appeals court hearing in Washington on Thursday, where a majority of an 11-judge panel expressed skepticism about whether Trump had the authority to issue sweeping global tariffs under emergency law. 

A group of Democratic-led states and small businesses has challenged the tariffs, arguing that Trump wrongfully invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to issue the levies, and that Congress never intended for the law to be used in such a manner when it was passed nearly 50 years ago. Greer, meanwhile, said he’s confident in Trump’s use of IEEPA, which does not mention tariffs. 

“If there’s still questions coming out of the Federal Circuit or further litigation that goes to the Supreme Court, we’re confident there that this statute clearly says the president has the authority to regulate imports,” he said.

Read also: El-Erian Flags 4 Reasons Why It’s Impossible To Predict Trump Tariff Fallout

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