US gov’t asks court to keep Trump’s 10% global tariffs in place during appeal

The Trump administration has asked a trade court to pause a ruling that found President Donald Trump’s latest 10% global tariffs unlawful while the government appeals the decision.

The request would allow the United States to continue collecting the tariffs from importers as the legal battle proceeds.
In a 2-1 decision last week, a panel of the US Court of International Trade ruled that Trump’s use of Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose the levies was invalid.

The court’s order immediately blocked enforcement only for two companies that filed the case and Washington state, but the Justice Department warned that thousands of importers paying the tariffs could bring similar claims if the ruling takes effect more broadly.

Government lawyers said allowing the decision to stand would “severely undermine” Trump’s trade agenda and divert resources from an ongoing effort to refund a previous round of global tariffs that the US Supreme Court struck down earlier this year.

The administration has appealed the decision to the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

The Justice Department said that if both the trade court and the appeals court refuse to pause the ruling, the administration is prepared to seek emergency relief from the Supreme Court.

The dispute centers on Trump’s use of Section 122, which allows temporary import restrictions under certain balance-of-payments conditions.

The trade court rejected the administration’s argument that “balance-of-payments deficits” should be interpreted broadly, finding that Trump’s proclamation relied on trade and current account deficits instead of identifying the type of deficits required under the 1974 law.

The 10% tariffs took effect in February and are set to expire in July.

More than 170,000 importers have paid deposits covering Section 122 tariffs on 13 million entries of goods since the proclamation took effect, according to the government.

US customs authorities collected about $8 billion in Section 122 tariffs in March alone, according to government data analyzed by We Pay the Tariffs, a coalition of small businesses.