Section 122 challenge heard

A federal trade court heard arguments on April 10 over whether President Donald Trump can keep a 10% tariff on most imports under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. (apnews.com) The case is in the U.S. Court of International Trade, where 24 states and a group of small businesses are challenging the tariff. The duty took effect on February 24, 2026, after Trump signed a February 20 proclamation. (politico.com) (whitehouse.gov) (content.govdelivery.com) Section 122 is a narrow backup power in trade law. It lets a president impose a temporary import surcharge of up to 15% for no more than 150 days to address a “large and serious” balance-of-payments deficit, unless Congress extends it. (law.cornell.edu) The White House said the United States faced “fundamental international payments problems” and used that finding to justify the surcharge. Customs and Border Protection said the 10% duty applies to imports from every country, with listed exemptions, through July 24, 2026. (whitehouse.gov) (content.govdelivery.com) The lawsuit argues Section 122 was written for monetary emergencies tied to balance-of-payments problems, not for a general trade-deficit strategy. New York Attorney General Letitia James said the coalition is seeking a declaration that the tariffs are unlawful and refunds for tariff costs paid by states. (ag.ny.gov) Judges pressed both sides on how to read a 1974 statute in a very different 2026 economy. Judge Timothy Stanceu said from the bench, “We’re not quite sure how to translate 1974 into 2026,” according to Politico’s account of the hearing. (politico.com) The hearing came after the Supreme Court struck down the administration’s earlier tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act on February 20, 2026. Trump then shifted within hours to Section 122, which had not been used by any president before this year. (ag.ny.gov) (politico.com) This Section 122 fight is running alongside a much larger tariff court backlog. More than 2,000 refund-related tariff cases are pending at the Court of International Trade after the Supreme Court’s February ruling, according to court filings and trade lawyers cited by Politico, while Bloomberg Law reported the total number of tariff lawsuits had risen above 2,000. (politico.com) (news.bloomberglaw.com) The administration has said it will defend the tariffs, and the court did not say at the April 10 hearing when it would rule. Unless Congress acts, the Section 122 surcharge expires on July 24, the same date customs guidance gave importers when the new tariff took effect. (apnews.com) (content.govdelivery.com)