Bessent says US Treasury can easily cover any tariff refunds

By David Lawder

SAVAGE, Minnesota, Jan 9 (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury has more than adequate funds to pay any tariff refunds ordered if the Supreme Court rules against President Donald Trump’s ‍emergency tariffs, but any repayments would be spread out over weeks or even a year, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters on Friday.

Bessent said in an interview that he still doubted that the court would rule against Trump’s tariffs, but he believed that any refunds would be a corporate ‌boondoggle for companies that passed on added costs to ‌their customers.

He added that any negative ruling may not be a simple yes-or-no result, but something more nuanced that could complicate the refund process.

“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,” Bessent said. “Costco, who’s suing ‍the U.S. government, are they going to ​give the money back to their clients?”

Bessent said companies ​generally, however, were not passing tariffs on to consumers, saying there was “very, ‍very little, if any, pass-through,” and disputed that Trump’s tariffs contributed to inflation. He said goods inflation had been below headline inflation.

Importers and trade lawyers had anticipated a Supreme Court ruling on Friday but the court instead issued a ruling on a different matter. It ‍remains unclear when the court will rule on the tariff case, which challenges President Donald Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to ‍impose broad tariffs ‍on nearly every U.S. trading partner.

Bessent said he ​believed that the longer the tariff decision is delayed, ​the ⁠more likely it is that the Supreme Court rules ‌in Trump’s favor.

With cash on hand of nearly $774 billion as of Thursday, the Treasury has more than enough funds to cover any refunds.

“We’re not talking about the money all goes out in a day. Probably over weeks, months, may take over a year, right?” He said.

(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing ⁠by Edmund Klamann)