US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said tariff rates would return to their previous levels once a Section 301 review currently underway is completed, signalling Washington's intent to restore tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court earlier this year through an alternative legal route.
Speaking to CNBC's Joe Kernen on Squawk Box on Wednesday, Bessent called the Supreme Court's decision invalidating tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) "unfortunate," noting that IEEPA had been "a very efficient way to put on tariffs."
"We have rebooted the tariff program. Right now, we have something called Section 122 tariffs, which is a 10% global tariff. Currently, USTR Ambassador Jamieson Greer is doing studies for Section 301, and if those studies are successful, and I have no reason to believe they won't be, but we don't know until they are, then the tariff rates are going to go back to exactly where they were," Bessent said.
He added that using IEEPA in 2025 had allowed the administration to quickly reach trade deals it would not otherwise have secured, citing the European Union as an example.
"The EU is going to pay us 15% and they are going to charge us zero," he said, adding that the bloc was also lowering non-tariff trade barriers and "unfair financing practices." He said similar rebalancing was underway with Japan, South Korea and China.
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Bessent said the Treasury expects "a de minimis decline in tariff revenue" in its calendar year 2026 projections, assuming the Section 301 studies are completed successfully.
The Supreme Court had ruled in February that IEEPA does not authorise the president to impose tariffs, striking down levies including the reciprocal tariffs first announced last April.
In response, the administration shifted to Section 122 of the Trade Act, which permits a temporary global tariff set to expire on July 24, while USTR pursues Section 301 investigations as a longer-term replacement.
Unlike IEEPA, Section 301 requires a formal investigative process, including written submissions and public hearings, before tariffs can be imposed. US Customs and Border Protection has separately been refunding billions of dollars in IEEPA tariffs already collected, even as the administration appeals that refund order.
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