Bessent dismisses costs of tariffs, but says U.S. would have to give huge refunds if they're overturned | Metals Mine

  • Bessent dismisses costs of tariffs, but says U.S. would have to give huge refunds if they're overturned

    From morningstar.com

    Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Sunday said the U.S. could end up giving massive refunds if the U.S. Supreme Court finds the Trump administration's tariffs are illegal, and denied that the tariffs are effectively a tax on American consumers. In an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," Bessent said he's confident that the tariffs will be upheld by the Supreme Court. But even if they're not, "there are numerous other avenues that we can take," he told host Kristen Welker, though that would "diminish President Trump's negotiating position." "We would have to give a refund on about half the tariffs, which would be ... (full story)

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DaJoWaBa
Sep 8, 2025 3:47am
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Quoting Polimini
I can't wait to get my refund. If the other countries paid for the tariffs, it's us that will get the refunds not the Americans right?
Heavy dose of sarcasm?

On a different angle, the quote in the text: "More specifically, Bessent brushed off a Goldman Sachs report from August that found 86% of the tariff revenue collected so far has been paid by U.S. businesses and consumers.", unsurprisingly induces a flat-hand-in-the-face vague denial, presumably to be followed by accusations of fake data. Even a few percentage points off 86% warrants alot of explaining to the poor sheep, sorry, electorate, as to how these extra taxes benefit them more than some vague feeling of MAGA and poppy-cock retribution.

If some USA-based economic data is tenths of % off, the world goes mad.

86% should not be a surprising figure to anyone with a minimum of economic capability or experience.
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Schultz
Sep 8, 2025 5:53am — Edited
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Quoting OutThere
{quote}It's pretty hard to be a US supreme court judge in this day and age.
They only have to consider the law, actually, not all the existential stuff put before them by the Trump team.

So, what the lower courts found constitutionally, and specifically in regards to the IEEPA (the emergency powers Act), will probably be upheld.

If I may speculate for a moment, I also think that it might actually be an opportunity for a few of the conservative judges to counter the narrative that the SCOTUS has been hijacked by the right.

I don't see the Trump team arguing a point of law that was addressed by the lower courts and they got it wrong, as would usually happen in any appeals case, especially to the Sup Ct.

They are just re-hashing everything that has been argued before. Perhaps refining it a bit, not sure how.

Remembering that a loss for Trump may be construed as a win. He tried so hard for the good of America, and it was only a bunch of elitist judges who thwarted his plan to make America great again. And there is no economic fallout that the tariffs would create.
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Polimini
Sep 8, 2025 3:02am
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I can't wait to get my refund. If the other countries paid for the tariffs, it's us that will get the refunds not the Americans right?
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DonFF
Sep 8, 2025 7:41pm
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Trouble is, Bissent has been given responsibilities without the requisite skills, so no one in their right mind can take anything he says too seriously! Just goes to show that a powerful fool is still a fool! Case in Point- Trump
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Polimini
Sep 8, 2025 5:02am
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Quoting DaJoWaBa
{quote} Heavy dose of sarcasm? On a different angle, the quote in the text: "More specifically, Bessent brushed off a Goldman Sachs report from August that found 86% of the tariff revenue collected so far has been paid by U.S. businesses and consumers.", unsurprisingly induces a flat-hand-in-the-face vague denial, presumably to be followed by accusations of fake data. Even a few percentage points off 86% warrants alot of explaining to the poor sheep, sorry, electorate, as to how these extra taxes benefit them more than some vague...
wouldn't 100% of the tariff revenue collected by the US have to be paid by businesses and consumers in the US, no one paid that outside the US, i don't even understand how that would work.

Do they mean the remaining 14% was paid by US businesses that have their headquarters outside the US?
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Schultz
Sep 8, 2025 5:18am — Edited
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Quoting Polimini
{quote} wouldn't 100% of the tariff revenue collected by the US have to be paid by businesses and consumers in the US, no one paid that outside the US, i don't even understand how that would work. Do they mean the remaining 14% was paid by US businesses that have their headquarters outside the US?
Possibly. The only other explanation I can think of is the imports purchased by any arm of the US government itself, like say the military.

Interesting. We'll see, eh? 14% is quite a lot.

Bit of a bureaucratic mess, I reckon.

Or, perhaps 14% of revenue was gleaned fom tariffs that are clearly legal. That's probably it.
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Schultz
Sep 8, 2025 9:52am
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Quoting The Fool
Meanwhile, so much drama. Maybe Pulte is a typical MAGA homophobe? https://www.politico.com/news/magazi...lowup-00549956
Pulte is a dolt.
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DwnUndrTrdr
Sep 8, 2025 10:38am
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Quoting The Fool
Meanwhile, so much drama. Maybe Pulte is a typical MAGA homophobe? https://www.politico.com/news/magazi...lowup-00549956
And this administration wants gays out of the military. Allegedly Bessent gone toe to toe with, what was his name? Chainsaw guy to expenditure?.. and now Pulte.
Too bad old TACO bone spurs wasn’t 20 odd years younger and Bessent could make him his bitch as well.
OutThere
Sep 8, 2025 12:31am
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Just deduct it from all the money Trump has made for himself from abusing his presidency. He will still have enough left over to hire Giuliani to defend him.
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The Fool
Sep 8, 2025 9:13am
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The monarchist SCOTUS will continue to defer to the whims of the manbaby king.
The Fool
Sep 8, 2025 9:16am
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Meanwhile, so much drama. Maybe Pulte is a typical MAGA homophobe?

https://www.politico.com/news/magazi...lowup-00549956
DwnUndrTrdr
Sep 8, 2025 12:09am
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And Lutnick’s sons running his old firm Cantor Fitzgerald are buying up the rights to tariff refunds……..
Trader#FF63
Sep 8, 2025 7:54am
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I'm a bit lost, first - Trump said that trillons of dollars are flowing to US because of tarrif, now Bassent said that if tarrifs will be noted as illegas - those dollars have to be returned to the US citizents as it was illegal additional tax .. so who the hell paid this tarrisf ?
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Trader#125D
Sep 8, 2025 8:33am
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Quoting Trader#FF63
I'm a bit lost, first - Trump said that trillons of dollars are flowing to US because of tarrif, now Bassent said that if tarrifs will be noted as illegas - those dollars have to be returned to the US citizents as it was illegal additional tax .. so who the hell paid this tarrisf ?
It is rhetoric question that you already know the answer, but it may make sense to reiterate it.
Half of them have to be returned back to American consumer who paid them through the higher price of goods and the other half that is not passed yet onto American consumer yet have to go back to American small, medium businesses that imported the goods.
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