Washington, Jan 20 (AP) US President Donald Trump gave a somewhat meandering defence of his declaration of an economic emergency to impose tariffs, saying the law is clear to him but he doesn't know how the Supreme Court will rule in a pending case challenging the legality.

Trump said at a news briefing that the government can restrict trade by requiring licenses and that tariffs could be less severe. But Trump stressed, “I don't know what the Supreme Court's going to do.” “If we lose that case, it's possible we're going to have to do the best we can in paying it back,” Trump said. “I don't know how that's going to be done very easily without hurting a lot of people.” The president used emergency tariffs to negotiate trade frameworks and on Saturday threatened tariffs on eight European nations in hopes of forcing those countries to back US ownership of Greenland. (AP) GRS GRS

Emergency tariffs face pending Supreme Court challenge, administration warns of potential repayments and limited options. Declaration of an economic emergency is used to impose tariffs and restrict trade via licensing, while a pending judicial review challenges that emergency tariff authority. The administration concedes uncertainty about the Supreme Court's outcome, notes possible repayment liability if the authority is invalidated, and emphasizes the use of emergency tariffs as negotiation leverage despite legal and practical constraints.