As the Supreme Court prepares to hear one of the most consequential economic cases in decades—the legality of President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs—one of the original architects of his trade agenda says the president has gone too far to turn back.
Wilbur Ross, who, as the president’s commerce secretary from 2017 to 2021, helped design the first wave of Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs during his first term, told Fortune a total defeat from the Supreme Court is unlikely. But even if it comes, Trump won’t walk away.
“He’s too committed to the tariff to give it up,” Ross said. “If they lose, I don’t think he’s just going to say, ‘Well, okay, it didn’t work under this law, I’ll give it up.’ He’s too invested.”
A weaker case—and a bigger gamble
The Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday about whether Trump exceeded his authority by using emergency powers to levy tariffs on more than 100 countries and nearly every U.S. trading partner. Technically, according to Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, Congress, not the president, has the right to lay and collect “taxes, duties, imposts, and excises.” Tariffs, as a duty, fall under the category of requiring Congressional approval. However, to surpass that, the Trump administration has invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) of 1977, which allows the president during “national emergencies” to take regulatory action, to impose tariffs, though the act does not mention duties.
It isn’t the first time Trump has found a legal workaround to act unilaterally on trade: In 2018, Ross helped Trump craft an exemption under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act to launch the first round of tariffs on China and other countries. Then, Ross said his team held public hearings, consulted with industries and trading partners, and built a lengthy administrative record anticipating court challenges.
“We were upheld throughout,” he recalled. “That…