Even if the Supreme Court rules Trump’s global tariffs are illegal, refunds are unlikely because that would be ‘very complicated,’ Hassett says

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett offered more of a practical reason than a legal argument on the future of President Donald Trump’s global tariffs.

Lower courts have ruled that the so-called reciprocal tariffs invoked under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act are illegal, though the Supreme Court will have a final say.

In an interview on CBS News’ Face the Nation on Sunday, Hassett predicted that the justices will rule in the White House’s favor.

“And I also think that if they didn’t find with us, that it’s going to be pretty unlikely that they’re going to call for widespread refunds, because it would be an administrative problem to get those refunds out to there,” he added, explaining that whoever made the actual tariff payment would be in line to get a refund.

That’s as Trump has vowed that foreign countries would pay the tariffs, though importers in the U.S. have been footing the bill with many companies passing along at least a portion of the costs to consumers.

Hassett said the eventual payer of a tariff “depends on elasticities of supply and dema...