A split panel of the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled May 7 that the Trump administration's 10% across-the-board global tariffs, imposed under…
A split panel of the U.S. Court of International Trade ruled May 7 that the Trump administration's 10% across-the-board global tariffs, imposed under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, exceed the president's statutory authority and are invalid [1]. The two-to-one panel held that no genuine balance-of-payments deficit of the kind Congress contemplated in 1974 exists, meaning the factual predicate required to trigger Section 122 emergency powers was not met [1]. The ruling granted injunctive relief, but only to the named plaintiffs, leaving the broader tariff regime in place for all other importers [1].
The cases, consolidated before the Court of International Trade in New York, were brought by Burlap & Barrel, a specialty spice importer, and the State of Washington, with litigation support from the Liberty Justice Center [1]. Lead counsel Jeffrey Schwab argued that the administration stretched a narrow congressional delegation, designed for acute currency-crisis scenarios, into a general-purpose tariff instrument [1]. Plaintiff-side witness Jay Foreman also participated in proceedings challenging the economic justification underlying the tariff order [1]. The court's majority agreed that the statutory language confines the president's authority to a defined and demonstrable emergency condition that the record did not establish.
The decision carries weight beyond the two prevailing plaintiffs. It is the second consecutive federal-court ruling, following the Supreme Court's recent rejection of the administration's IEEPA-based tariff authority, to find that congressional delegations of tariff power carry enforceable substantive limits [1]. The pattern is significant for trade law practitioners: courts are scrutinizing whether the specific statutory trigger, not merely a broad grant of executive discretion, has actually been satisfied. Refund exposure for duties already collected could be substantial if appellate courts ultimately affirm on the merits and relief is extended class-wide.
The Federal Circuit acted quickly. On May 12, it granted a stay of the Court of International Trade's injunction while the government pursues its appeal, meaning the 10% tariffs remain in effect for now [3]. The stay does not address the merits. Briefing and argument at the Federal Circuit will determine whether the panel majority's statutory reading survives review, and any affirmance on the merits would set the stage for a likely petition to the Supreme Court, which has already engaged this term on the outer boundaries of executive tariff authority.
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**Meta Description:** A federal trade court struck down Trump's 10% global tariffs as exceeding Section 122 authority; the Federal Circuit stayed the ruling five days later pending appeal.
**Slug:** trade-court-voids-trump-section-122-tariffs
**Tags:** Legal News, Motion Ruling, State of Oregon v. United States / Burlap & Barrel v. United States, United States, New York, Tariffs, Trade Law, Separation of Powers, U.S. Court of International Trade, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Liberty Justice Center, Jeffrey Schwab, Jay Foreman
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**Metadata:**
– subject: State of Oregon v. United States / Burlap & Barrel v. United States, Section 122 Tariff Challenge
– subject_type: Motion Ruling
– date: 2026-05-07
– jurisdiction: federal
– country: United States
– region: New York
– city: New York
– key_people: Jeffrey Schwab, Jay Foreman
– key_organizations: U.S. Court of International Trade, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Liberty Justice Center, State of Washington
– themes: Tariffs, Trade Law, Separation of Powers
– significance: A second consecutive federal-court ruling limiting executive tariff authority signals enforceable constitutional and statutory constraints on delegation, with large-scale refund exposure in the balance.
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**References:**
[1] NPR. (2026, May 7). Trade court strikes down a second round of Trump tariffs. https://www.npr.org/2026/05/07/nx-s1-5815343/trade-court-strikes-down-10-percent-tariffs
[3] Al Jazeera. (2026, May 12). US court pauses decision blocking Trump's 10 percent global tariff. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2026/5/12/us-court-pauses-decision-blocking-trumps-10-percent-global-tariff