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Federal trade court strikes down Trump’s backup tariff

A U.S. federal court ruled in a 2-1 decision that Trump’s 10% blanket tariffs were unlawful, ordering collections halted for the plaintiffs and refunds issued while other tariffs remain in effect until July.

Fact Check
The claim is well-supported by multiple independent sources. After the Supreme Court struck down Trump's IEEPA tariffs on February 20, 2026 (confirmed by BBC and Reuters), Trump immediately introduced a 10% global tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 as a backup measure. Reuters reported in April 2026 that the US Court of International Trade (the 'federal trade court') was already challenging the legality of this backup tariff. On May 7, 2026, Yahoo Finance, Watcher.Guru, and Ash Crypto on X all independently reported that the federal trade court ruled this 10% global tariff unlawful. The characterization of the 10% tariff as a 'backup tariff' is accurate given the documented sequence of events. The only minor uncertainty is that the Yahoo Finance X post links to a full article that could not be directly fetched, but the convergence of multiple independent sources on the same date strongly supports the claim.
Summary

A U.S. federal court ruled 2-1 that Trump’s 10% blanket tariffs were unlawful, finding the government lacked authority under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. The court ordered tariff collection to stop for the plaintiffs and directed refunds for those parties. Tariffs affecting other importers remain in effect until July, indicating the ruling currently applies only to the plaintiffs rather than immediately ending the broader tariff regime.

Terms & Concepts
  • Tariff: A tax imposed on imported goods, often used in trade policy to raise costs on foreign products or influence trade relationships.
  • Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974: A provision of U.S. trade law cited by the court in assessing whether the government had legal authority to impose the challenged tariffs.