A US trade court struck down Trump’s 10% global tariffs 2-1, ruling the duties were not justified under a 1970s trade law; the White House had cited a $1.2 trillion goods trade deficit as grounds.
Summary: The US Court of International Trade ruled 2-1 against President Trump’s 10% global tariffs, finding they were not justified under the Trade Act of 1974, per the court ruling The tariffs took effect on February 24 after Trump invoked Section 122 of the 1974 Act, which permits duties for up to 150 days to address balance-of-payments deficits or dollar depreciation risks, per the court filing The court found the law was not an appropriate instrument for the type of trade deficits Trump cited, according to the ruling The Trump administration had argued a serious balance-of-payments deficit existed, pointing to a $1.2 trillion annual goods trade deficit and a current account deficit of 4% of GDP, per the administration’s legal submissions The case was brought by small businesses who argued the tariffs were an attempt to circumvent a Supreme Court decision that struck down Trump’s 2025 tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, per court documents One dissenting judge said it was premature to grant victory to the small business plaintiffs, according to the ruling A federal trade court has struck down President Donald Trump’s 10% global tariffs, ruling in a 2-1 decision that the duties were not legally justified under the 1970s trade legislation the administration used to impose them, in a significant blow to one of the White House’s central economic policy instruments
The US Court of International Trade found in favour of a group of small businesses that challenged the tariffs after they took effect on February 24. Trump had issued the February order under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, a provision that allows a president to impose duties for a period of up to 150 days to correct serious balance-of-payments deficits or to head off an…