U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attends a press conference at government quarters Rosenbad after the trade talks between the U.S. and China concluded, in Stockholm, Sweden, July 29, 2025.
Magnus Lejhall | TT | Via Reuters
Even if the U.S. Supreme Court agrees with a federal appeals court’s ruling that most of President Donald Trump’s tariffs are illegal, it doesn’t mean the case is closed on those levies.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reportedly told Reuters on Monday that there are “other authorities that can be used” to uphold the tariffs. One of them could be the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, Bessent said.
(A curious side note: Smoot-Hawley is described by an article on the U.S. Senate website as “among the most catastrophic acts in congressional history.”)
Since markets in the U.S. were closed for the Labor Day holiday on Monday, they didn’t have a chance to respond to both Bessent’s comment and the court’s ruling, which was announced after the bell on Friday.
For now, futures tied to U.S. stocks were little changed Monday night stateside. Investors could have gotten used to the volatile nature of Trump tariffs and are taking a wait-and-see approach.
No point, after all, to prepare for an outcome that might lead to the start of another legal battle. It’s never over till it’s over — it’s just another day in Trump’s America.
What you need to know today
Bessent expects the Supreme Court to uphold Trump tariffs. And if they are struck down by the court, “there are lots of other authorities that can be used,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday, Reuters reported.
Trump said India had offered to remove tariffs on U.S. However, he did not elaborate on the claim. Trump also said Monday that trade ties with India is “a totally one sided disaster!” His comments came after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China for a security summit.
Takeaways from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit. The two-day event was largely seen as a showcase of Beijing’s push for a new world order. Key developments include: thawing India-China relations, a Xi-Putin-Modi troika, AI partnership and a new development bank.
Asia-Pacific markets trade mixed Tuesday. South Korea’s Kospi index rose around 0.8% as the country’s inflation in August came in lower than expected. U.S. stock futures were mostly flat. On Monday, U.S. markets were closed for Labor Day.
[PRO] A Chinese property stock defying the slump. The company has “already returned more capital than they ever raised from capital markets,” wrote Barclays — and its stock has an implied upside of over 40% from the bank’s price target.
And finally…
Sports club Suzhou Shishan opened the Chinese city’s first pickleball court in January 2024, according to the company.
Suzhou Shishan
Pickleball is just getting started in China
Online sales of pickleball paddles and related equipment in China have skyrocketed this year to an average of $1.2 million in monthly sales as of July — an increase of more than six-fold versus the year-ago period, according to data from WPIC Marketing + Technologies.
Pickleball’s recent growth in China has different business implications. In contrast to U.S. suburbs, big Asian cities don’t tend to have large neighborhood spaces, said Patrick Yan, founder of an agency representing Asian pickleball players. “All these courts have to be built by people running businesses. They’re operating for profit.”
— Evelyn Cheng