▲ U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with Polish President Karol Nawrocki in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 3, 2025, in this photo released by EPA. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

Trump-trade deals

Trump says U.S. would have to 'unwind' trade deals with Korea, Japan, EU in case of court loss over tariffs

By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON, Sept. 3 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday his administration may have to "unwind" trade deals with South Korea, Japan and others in the event of a loss in a court case over his "reciprocal" tariffs.

Trump made the remarks during a meeting with Polish President Karol Nawrocki at the White House, as his government is expected to appeal last week's decision by a federal appeals court that invalidated most of its sweeping global tariffs.

"Now, we made a deal with the European Union where they are paying us almost a trillion dollars, and they are happy to do it ... These deals are all done. I guess we would have to unwind them," Trump said, responding to a reporter's question during the summit with the Polish president.

"We've done deals with Japan, with South Korea. We've done deals with many countries and others to come," he added, stressing the "power," "prestige" and "dignity" of tariffs.

Trump has been using tariffs as his key policy tool to increase federal revenue, bring in foreign investments, reduce America's trade deficits and bolster domestic manufacturing.

His administration has reached framework deals with a series of major trading partners, including South Korea, under which it has agreed to lower reciprocal rates on them in return for their investment commitments and other pledges.

Trump underscored the importance of a win in the legal case over the tariffs.

"We have a very, very big case in the Supreme Court. I can only say this ... our country has a chance to be unbelievably rich again, but it can also be unbelievably poor again," he said.

"If we don't win that case, our country is going to suffer so greatly ... but I think we are going to have a big victory."

He accused those who brought the case to the court of being "foreign oriented."

He also reiterated his claim that without reciprocal tariffs in place, the U.S. will end up becoming a "third world" nation.

In a seven-to-four decision Friday, the court ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which Trump invoked to roll out reciprocal tariffs, does not actually give him the authority to impose the across-the-board duties.

But it allowed the tariffs to remain in force until Oct. 14 to give time for the Trump administration to appeal its decision.

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