The Court of International Trade ruled that Trump’s use of Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose the tariffs was misguided, saying Section 122 was intended to address international balance-of-payments problems rather than trade deficits.
After the US Supreme Court in February rejected earlier tariffs imposed under emergency powers, the Trump administration moved quickly to invoke Section 122 to implement the 10% global tariff, which took effect on February 24. The administration said the tariff could later be raised to 15%.
The plaintiffs, including 24 US states and a number of small businesses, argued that the White House had misused the law to introduce new tariffs after losing the earlier case before the Supreme Court. The Trump administration is expected to appeal the ruling.
