Trade Court Strikes Down Trump’s Illegal 10% Global Tariffs in Blow to Protectionist Agenda

In yet another legal rebuke of President Donald Trump’s tariff crusade, the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled Thursday that his 10% global tariffs are illegal. The 2-1 decision sided with small businesses who sued, concluding Trump failed to properly invoke Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 — the very statute he cited to justify the tariffs.

Section 122 grants the president limited authority to impose tariffs for up to 150 days to address “large and serious balance-of-payments deficits” and protect the U.S. dollar from depreciation in foreign markets. But the court found no such deficit exists. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, supporting the plaintiffs, explained, “A trade deficit is not a balance-of-payment deficit.” The court declared Trump’s tariff proclamation “invalid” and the levies “unauthorized by law.”

This ruling follows the Supreme Court’s February rejection of Trump’s sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs, which the president had imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) after declaring a national emergency. The high court struck down those tariffs in a 6-3 decision, calling them unlawful.

Undeterred, Trump rolled out the 10% global tariffs through the Trade Act of 1974, sidestepping Congress and claiming the Supreme Court’s decision strengthened presidential trade powers. But the trade court’s ruling now blocks these backup tariffs, at least temporarily.

Trump’s tariff policies have sparked economic chaos — rattling stock markets, driving up consumer prices, and provoking retaliatory tariffs from allies and trading partners. His unilateral imposition of tariffs without congressional approval exemplifies the administration’s broader pattern of executive overreach and disregard for legal constraints.

The Trump administration is expected to appeal the trade court’s ruling, but this legal defeat underscores the limits of the president’s tariff powers and the ongoing resistance from businesses and states pushing back against his protectionist trade wars.

This case is more than a legal technicality. It highlights how Trump’s aggressive tariffs hurt American workers and consumers while flouting the rule of law. As tariffs remain a key tool in his economic agenda, courts and challengers will continue to hold the administration accountable for its unlawful overreach.