White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said the administration is finalizing three trade deals, with more to come despite a federal court ruling blocking President Trump’s tariff proposals.
“There are many, many deals coming. And there were three that basically look like they’re done,” Mr. Hassett said Thursday in an interview with Fox Business, adding that the trio will be reviewed by the president this week.
He said the administration will still negotiate trade deals that could be reached with many countries by the July deadline.
“It’s certainly not going to affect the negotiations. Because in the end, people know President Trump is 100% serious and they have also seen that President Trump always wins,” he said.
Mr. Hassett brushed aside Wednesday night’s ruling by the U.S. Court of International Trade, which concluded that Mr. Trump overstepped his authority by imposing tariffs. The economic adviser blasted the court’s opinion as the work of “activist judges” and vowed that the administration would win when it appeals to the Supreme Court.
“If there are little hiccups here or there because of decisions that activist judges make, then it shouldn’t just concern you at all, and it’s certainly not going to affect the negotiations,” Mr. Hassett said.
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“In a month or two, you are going to look ahead and see that countries have opened their markets to American products, they have lowered their nontariff barriers, they lowered their tariffs and all the countries that have done that are being treated very respectfully and well by the U.S.,” he said, adding that countries that don’t go along with Mr. Trump’s plan should expect “some form of reciprocal tariffs.”
Mr. Trump invoked the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose his sweeping reciprocal tariffs on the grounds that the massive U.S. trade deficit represented a crisis. He also imposed separate IEEPA tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico to address concerns about fentanyl and illegal immigration.
However, the court ruled that Mr. Trump didn’t have the authority to impose tariffs in response to the fentanyl crisis and immigration.
“The idea that the fentanyl crisis in America is not an emergency is so appalling to me that I’m sure when we appeal that, this decision will be overturned,” Mr. Hassett said.
