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Fortune
Fortune
Eva Roytburg

Trump’s former trade architect says the president can’t backtrack on tariffs because he’s ‘too committed’ now: ‘That would be a pretty horrific decision’

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 23: (L-R) The Hon. Wilbur Ross, President, Chairman & CEO of the Ross Acquisition Corp. II speaks onstage during the 2024 Concordia Annual Summit at Sheraton New York Times Square on September 23, 2024 in New York City. (Credit: Riccardo Savi—Getty Images for Concordia Summit)

As the Supreme Court prepares to hear one of the most consequential economic cases in decades—the legality of President Donald Trump’s sweeping new tariffs—one of the original architects of his trade agenda says the president has gone too far to turn back.

Wilbur Ross, who, as the president’s commerce secretary from 2017 to 2021, helped design the first wave of Trump’s steel and aluminum tariffs during his first term, told Fortune a total defeat from the Supreme Court is unlikely. But even if it comes, Trump won’t walk away.

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