The US Appeals court temporarily pauses trade court ruling against Trumps 10% tariffs.
What is the backstory for this ruling?
After the Supreme Court ruled in February that President Trump had exceeded his authority in ordering double-digit tariffs on virtually everything the US imports, Trump sought to replace the import taxes using a different law.
Trump turned to Section 122 — a never-before-used provision of the Trade Act of 1974 — the same day the Supreme Court struck down the bulk of his tariffs, imposing a 10% across-the-board surcharge set to expire July 24. The law allows the president to impose a temporary tariff of up to 15% for up to 150 days to address “large and serious” balance-of-payments deficits.
The trade court ruling — May 7
On May 7, 2026, the US Court of International Trade ruled in the consolidated cases Oregon v. Trump and Burlap & Barrel, Inc. v. Trump, holding that the administration’s 10% global tariff imposed under Section 122 was unlawful.
The trade court ruled that the condition required by the law — a large and persistent balance-of-payments deficit — does not currently exist. A balance-of-payments deficit is distinct from a trade deficit, something the administration itself acknowledged earlier in court.
Crucially though, the CIT’s relief was narrow — it entered a permanent injunction only for the two private importer plaintiffs (Burlap & Barrel and Basic Fun!) and the State of Washington, while declining to block collection on a nationwide basis. As a result, most importers are not covered by the injunction, and Customs and Border Protection is expected to continue assessing and collecting the tariffs while the case proceeds on appeal.
The administration’s response — appeal and stay request
The Trump administration asked the US trade court to pause the ruling while the government appeals, meaning importers would keep paying the levies while the legal fight continues.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick argued that removing the tariffs during the appeal would cause immediate economic disruption, writing that “premature removal of the surcharge would usher in a flood of imports.” US Trade Representative Greer also warned that “if certain key trading partners walk away from the table now, these negotiations may never resume,” even if the tariffs are ultimately upheld on appeal
So the tariffs have been temporarily paused
