Legal timeline and rollback risk
Treasury Secretary Bessent signaled Section 301 investigations could restore pre‑SCOTUS tariffs by July for 16 economies including China and India, while earlier court action saw SCOTUS strike IEEPA tariffs in February — a 10% blanket tariff currently runs until July 24 in some accounts. ( ).
Scott Bessent said on April 14 that the administration could restore tariff rates by early July by using Section 301 investigations instead of the emergency-powers law the Supreme Court rejected. (bloomberglaw.com) The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on February 20 that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not let a president impose tariffs, wiping out the “reciprocal” tariffs first announced in April 2025 and the fentanyl-related tariffs tied to China, Canada and Mexico. (ropesgray.com) Within hours of that ruling, President Donald Trump shifted to Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 and imposed a 10% global tariff. Customs stopped collecting the invalidated International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariffs on February 24, and the Section 122 tariff runs through July 24 unless Congress acts. (venable.com) Section 301 works differently. It requires the Office of the United States Trade Representative to investigate whether another economy’s policies are “unreasonable or discriminatory” and burden U.S. commerce before tariffs or other restrictions are imposed. (ustr.gov) U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer opened those investigations on March 11, targeting 16 economies: China, the European Union, Singapore, Switzerland, Norway, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Mexico, Japan and India. The agency says the cases focus on “structural excess capacity and production” in manufacturing. (ustr.gov) The formal notice set April 15 as the deadline for written comments and requests to testify, with public hearings scheduled for May 5 through May 8 at the U.S. International Trade Commission. That timeline is why Bessent’s “beginning of July” target is legally plausible, even if no final action has been announced yet. (federalregister.gov) Bessent said Section 301 has “already been tested in the courts,” a contrast with the emergency-powers theory the administration lost in February. Analysts told CNBC that Section 301 also gives the White House room to impose country-specific tariffs, negotiate settlements, or suspend trade concessions after the investigations close. (bloomberglaw.com) (cnbc.com) Business groups and importers are still dealing with the fallout from the February ruling. Lawyers at Ropes & Gray and Venable said companies that paid the invalidated tariffs may seek refunds, but the mechanics and timing remain unsettled. (ropesgray.com) (venable.com) The next marker is not a court date but the Section 301 record now being built through hearings and post-hearing filings. If the administration wants a tariff wall back before the Section 122 clock runs out on July 24, that is the lane it is trying to use. (federalregister.gov) (venable.com)
