United States Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent addressed the Economic Club of Dallas on Friday.
“Texas embodies what this administration is working to build nationally,” Bessent said to the full room.
His main reason for attending was to talk about the Trump Accounts. These are $1,000 investment accounts for children born between 2025 and 2028.
“Additional contributions can come from philanthropists, family, employers and state government,” Bessent said. “The objective is simple: give every child a stake in the American dream from day one.”
But he also had to address the Supreme Court ruling that came out on tariffs.
“The court did not rule against President Trump’s tariffs,” Bessent said. “Six justices simply ruled that IEEPA authorities cannot be used to raise even one dollar of revenue. This administration will invoke alternative legal authorities to replace the IEEPA tariffs.”
After prepared remarks, he held a fireside chat with local businessman Ray Washburne. Here, he discussed tariffs a bit more.
He said he was shocked by the outcome, but says it won’t impact the dollar amount the Treasury is taking in.
“Roughly last year, the existing revenues under the 232s, under the 301s, and some other collection mechanisms were roughly equal to the IEEPA tariffs,” Bessent said.
An estimated $175 billion has been collected from the IEEPA tariffs. Many businesses have sued to have them refunded under this ruling. Secretary Bessent said that it won’t likely happen soon.
“Supreme Court did not rule that today,” Bessent said. “They pushed it back down to the International Tax and Trade court, and my sense is that could be dragged out for weeks, months, years. So, we’ll see what happens there.”