U.S. Court Strikes Down President Donald Trump’s 10% Universal Tariffs

A split three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled Thursday against President Donald Trump’s 10% universal tariffs, finding the administration “overstepped the tariff power that Congress had allowed the president” under the Trade Act of 1974.

“The United States trade court has ruled against President Donald Trump’s latest 10 percent global tariffs, finding that across-the-board tariffs were not justified under a 1970s trade law”

Al Jazeera

The tariffs were set to expire July 24 and were invoked under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows a temporary tariff of up to 15% for up to 150 days to address “large and serious” balance-of-payments deficits.

Al Jazeera

The La Vanguardia report said the ruling was 2 to 1 and that one judge said it was “prematuro conceder la victoria” to the small businesses that sued, while Reuters and other coverage described the court as striking down the newest round of tariffs as illegal.

NBC News said the decision directly applied only to three plaintiffs—“the state of Washington and two businesses, spice company Burlap & Barrel and toy company Basic Fun!”—and that the administration could appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and potentially the Supreme Court.

Axios reported the court entered a permanent injunction but only for the plaintiffs, while also saying the duties would keep collecting for most importers “while the administration appeals.”

NBC News quoted Jeffrey Schwab saying, “It’s not clear’’ whether other businesses would have to continue to pay the tariffs, and it quoted Jay Foreman, CEO of Basic Fun!, saying, “We fought back today and we won, and we’re extremely excited,” after the ruling.

Bloomberg Línea

CNN said Trump reacted by telling reporters his administration would “do it a different way,” and it quoted him: “Nothing surprises me with the courts.”

NPR added that the court’s decision was limited to two importers who challenged the tariffs, along with the state of Washington, and it quoted Jeffrey Schwab saying, “That's a very good question and one we've sort of been wrestling with,” about whether other importers would have to keep paying.

The dispute centers on whether Section 122 can justify a broad 10% tariff, with Axios quoting the court’s concern that an expansive reading would give the president “unlimited tariff power that belongs to Congress.”

“Bloomberg — The 10% global tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump were declared illegal by a federal trade court, marking another setback for his administration's economic agenda, months after the U”

Bloomberg Línea

NBC News said the replacement tariffs were invoked after the Supreme Court in February struck down even broader double-digit tariffs, and it noted the new tariffs were “set to expire July 24” while the administration pursued other options.

NPR said the government now plans to refund more than $166 billion, with the first payments expected next week, and it quoted Jay Foreman expecting “some $7 million in refunds for the earlier tariffs.”

La Vanguardia reported that if a definitive loss forces the executive to return collected revenues, the amount is “en torno a los 166.000 millones de dólares,” and it said the 10% tariff took effect on 24 de febrero under Section 122 with a validity of 150 days, expiring next 23 de julio.