Daijiworld Media Network - Washington
Washington, Oct 11: US President Donald Trump on Saturday renewed his criticism of the Supreme Court's ruling against a category of his tariffs, claiming that the decision had deprived the federal government of hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue and harmed the American economy.
Speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews after returning from a campaign rally in Tennessee, Trump blamed the ruling when asked about the federal deficit, which a reporter put at USD 2 trillion for the last fiscal year.
“The Supreme Court hurt very badly because they wanted us to give back a certain form. You know, I have numerous forms of tariffs, but they wanted us to give back a certain form of tariff. And that was hundreds of billions of dollars,” Trump said.
“So the Supreme Court decision was very bad for our country. Very, very bad for our country,” he added.
Trump did not specify the amount of tariff revenue affected by the ruling or provide a detailed assessment of its impact on the federal deficit.
Earlier, at a Republican campaign rally in Clarksville, Tennessee, Trump defended his tariff policies, describing import duties as a central element of his administration's economic programme.
“We're getting rich because of tariffs,” he told supporters, claiming that the government was collecting trillions of dollars in revenue.
He also asserted that his administration had secured USD 21 trillion in investment commitments, a figure that was not independently verified in the material reviewed.
Trump linked his tariff programme to a renewed campaign promise to provide USD 5,000 to every adult American citizen if Republicans secured control of both chambers of Congress in the November 3 midterm elections.
“I am going to give all adult citizens in the United States of America $5,000 everywhere,” Trump said.
He said the proposed payments would be financed through tariff revenues and estimated that the programme would cost approximately USD 1 trillion.
Trump also cited investments by Korea Zinc and General Motors in Tennessee as examples of manufacturing activity he attributed to his trade policies.
He said Korea Zinc was investing more than USD 6 billion in facilities in Montgomery and Smith counties, while General Motors had announced a USD 275 million investment in its manufacturing operations in Spring Hill.
The president maintained that tariffs were encouraging companies to manufacture goods in the United States instead of importing them.
The Supreme Court ruling has emerged as a key issue in Trump's defence of his economic policies as Republicans campaign ahead of the midterm elections, focusing on tariffs, manufacturing investment and the cost of living.