US Court Rules Against Trump's 10% Tariffs

The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled 2-1 on Thursday against President Donald Trump's 10 percent tariffs on most global imports, determining that the measures exceeded his authority under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. The decision favored small businesses that challenged the duties, which took effect on February 24 following a Supreme Court ruling that invalidated the administration's prior tariffs.

The tariffs represented a temporary backup plan after the Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision earlier this year, struck down Trump's broader levies imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Those earlier tariffs, enacted in 2025, prompted a refund process for approximately $166 billion in collections. In response, Trump invoked Section 122, a rarely used provision allowing tariffs of up to 15 percent for no more than 150 days to address large balance-of-payments deficits or risks to the dollar's value. The administration cited a $1.2 trillion annual U.S. goods trade deficit and a current account deficit equal to 4 percent of gross domestic product.

The court, however, concluded that the cited deficits did not meet the law's criteria, which were...