U.S. to become third world nation if radical left courts strike down tariffs: Donald Trump

Donald Trump, who has been facing challenges from various fronts on rampant tariffs within the U.S., has warned that if the newly imposed reciprocal tariffs are eliminated, the U.S. would become a ‘third world nation,’ in his recent post on X.

These remarks come after a U.S. federal court of appeals declared the reciprocal tariffs and additional duties on Canada, Mexico and China illegal.

He shared that out of tariffs pressure, the country has seen a record $15 trillion of investment, as companies including the Big Tech giants such as Apple commit to invest in the USA.

“More than 15 Trillion Dollars will be invested in the USA, a RECORD. Much of this investment is because of Tariffs,” Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.

Calling the court as ‘Radical Left,’ Trump anticipates that if these tariffs are terminated all these investments will be moved outside of the U.S.

“If a Radical Left Court is allowed to terminate these Tariffs, almost all of this investment, and much more, will be immediately cancelled! In many ways, we would become a Third World Nation, with no hope of GREATNESS again. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!!! President DJT,” he said in his post.

In a previous post on the same platform, Trump had called the appeals court’s decision as “highly partisan.” On Friday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit had ruled that most of Trump’s tariffs are illegal, with a 7–4 majority. The court affirmed a lower court’s decision and held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not grant U.S. presidents the authority to impose tariffs unless it is a national emergency.

While the court has allowed the tariffs to remain in place until mid-October, Trump administration is set to appeal the decision in the Supreme Court.

For now, the reciprocal tariffs of 25% and an additional duty of 25% on India remains in place and is set to impact India exporters to the U.S.