U.S. Trade Court Rules Trump's 10% Global Tariff Invalid

According to media reports, the United States International Trade Court ruled on Thursday that the global 10% tariff imposed by Trump under a 1970s trade law lacks legal basis.

The court supported a group of small business plaintiffs with a 2-to-1 decision, determining that the aforementioned tariffs do not meet the applicable conditions of the relevant laws.

The disputed tariffs officially came into effect on February 24th this year. One dissenting judge argued that it was premature to rule in favor of the plaintiffs at this time.

This decision implies that the Trump administration's attempt to maintain its tariff system through another legal channel has been thwarted and may directly affect corporate import costs and market expectations for the direction of trade policy.

Legal Basis Denied, Plaintiffs Argue It's Actually to Circumvent Previous Supreme Court Ruling

In his executive order in February, Trump invoked Article 122 of the 1974 Trade Act. This clause allows the government to impose additional tariffs under specific conditions for a maximum of 150 days, including rectifying severe balance of payments deficits or preventing an imminent significant devaluation of the US dollar.

The court found in its ruling that the trade deficit issue cited by Trump in the executive order does not belong to the applicable circumstances targeted by the aforementioned legal provisions, and therefore the related tariff measures lack a legitimate basis.

The small businesses that filed the lawsuit believe that Trump's invocation of Article 122 of the 1974 Trade Act is essentially an attempt to circumvent a previous important ruling by the United States Supreme Court. This ruling overturned the related tariffs imposed by Trump in 2025 under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

The core issue of this litigation is whether, in the context of the Supreme Court's restrictive ruling on IEEPA tariffs, the government can use another legal authorization to achieve a similar purpose. The court's ruling explicitly denies this path.

The 10% global tariff, which was ruled invalid, is part of the Trump administration's tariff policy system for 2025. The court's decision further narrows the maneuvering space for the executive authority to unilaterally impose broad tariffs within the existing framework of trade laws.