US President Donald Trump has issued a stark warning, stating that the country could face a 1929-style "Great Depression" if a federal court rules against his administration's tariff policies. The warning comes as the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit prepares to deliver its verdict on a high-stakes case involving businesses and states that allege they have been harmed by the tariffs imposed during Trump's presidency.
Taking to his social media platform TRUTH Social, Trump made a lengthy post defending the tariffs, claiming they have had a "huge positive impact" on the US economy. He claimed that the economic strategy had helped the country reach "new records almost every day" during his tenure. Trump expressed serious concern that if what he called a "Radical Left Court" overturns the tariffs, the consequences would be economically catastrophic and the nation might "never recover."
Economic gains highlighted by Trump
"Tariffs are having a huge positive impact on the Stock Market. Almost every day, new records are set. In addition, Hundreds of Billions of Dollars are pouring into our Country's coffers", Trump wrote in his post. Trump has defended the use of tariffs as a strategy to boost domestic manufacturing and reduce reliance on income taxes. However, his policy is facing legal scrutiny through a lawsuit challenging the broad set of tariffs he introduced earlier this year. These include duties imposed in April on various trading partners, along with additional tariffs targeting China, Canada, and Mexico announced in February.
"It would be 1929 all over again, a GREAT DEPRESSION!" if the court was going to rule against "wealth, strength, and power of America", adding that America might never have a chance at "this kind of GREATNESS again. Our Country deserves SUCCESS AND GREATNESS, NOT TURMOIL, FAILURE, AND DISGRACE. GOD BLESS AMERICA! (sic)," Trump wrote.
Legal focus on emergency powers
The case focuses on Trump's reliance on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) - a law that allows the President to respond to "unusual and extraordinary" threats during times of national emergency. The lawsuit questions whether the current circumstances justify such emergency powers. As per reports, a ruling against Trump would not only cast doubt on the legality of past tariffs but also undermine the new wave of trade penalties he unveiled just this Thursday. However, legal experts believe that any party dissatisfied with the outcome is likely to take the case all the way to the Supreme Court.
Trump's tariffs hit over 70 nations
It should be noted here that Trump has announced tariff rates for nearly 70 nations. The tariffs in the list ranged from 10 per cent to 40 per cent, with Japan being charged 15 per cent, Laos and Myanmar (40 per cent each), Pakistan (19 per cent), Sri Lanka (20 per cent) and the United Kingdom (10 per cent). In addition to the 25 per cent tariff announced earlier, Trump, last week, imposed another 25 per cent levies on India for its purchases of Russian oil, bringing the total duties slapped on India to 50 per cent, among the highest imposed by the US on any country in the world.
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