Trump administration appeals ruling striking down global 10% tariffs

The Trump administration’s appeal keeps a 10% global tariff in play while businesses, importers and consumers wait to see whether the White House can hold onto a sweeping trade tool without new congressional approval. The case could determine whether billions of dollars in duties stay collected, whether refunds are owed, and how much leverage Donald Trump keeps in future tariff fights.

The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled on May 7 in a 2-1 decision that the administration had stretched Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 beyond what Congress intended when it enacted the law. The court said the statute was not written to address trade deficits in the way the administration used it, and it found no link to the kind of “large and serious” balance-of-payments deficit Congress contemplated in 1974.

The tariffs at issue were imposed in February 2026 as a temporary 10% global import surcharge, a move that had never previously been used under Section 122 in this way. Bloomberg Law reported that the statute had never been invoked like this before. The relief from the court ruling was limited to the plaintiffs, two small businesses and the state of Washington, rather than a nationwide block, but the decision still delivered another setback to Trump’s tariff strategy.

The Justice Department moved quickly and appealed on May 8 to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Jamieson Greer said the administration expects to prevail. The legal fight matters well beyond the courtroom because the tariffs were due to expire on July 24 unless Congress extended them, leaving importers to plan around a policy that may vanish, survive in modified form, or return through a different legal vehicle.

The timing also raises the diplomatic stakes. The appeal landed ahead of expected Trump-Xi Jinping discussions in Beijing, giving the administration’s trade posture added sensitivity as it tries to preserve leverage with China. The outcome could shape not only how much importers pay on goods entering the United States, but also whether the administration can keep using emergency-style tariff authority as a bargaining chip after earlier tariff actions by Trump were later invalidated by the Supreme Court.