US intl. trade court rules Trump's new 10% global tariff illegal

The US Court of International Trade on Thursday ruled that US President Donald Trump's new global tariff is illegal, thus invalidating his 10% tariffs on most US imports.

The court ruled that Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 allows tariffs only when there are "large and serious balance-of-payment deficits."

"But no such thing exists," Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield's office said in a release. "A trade deficit is not a balance-of-payment deficit. As the court ruled, the President's tariffs proclamation 'is invalid, and the tariffs imposed on Plaintiffs are unauthorized by law.'"

The Trump administration initially invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose universal tariffs worldwide in April 2025. The Supreme Court ruled those tariffs were unlawful in February this year. 

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What does the Supreme Court ruling mean for Trump's tariff regime?

Trump then immediately resorted to Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 and announced a 10% ad valorem duty on "all articles imported into the United States," supposedly in response to trade deficits.

The duty went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on February 24, 2026, and is set to remain in effect until 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on July 24, 2026, unless "suspended, modified, or terminated on an earlier date" or "extended by an Act of the Congress."

In the face of the new global tariff, a coalition of 24 US states filed their respective complaints in March 2026.