Global Daily Tax News, US Court Hearings Begin On 1974 Trade Act Tariffs, (Apr 15, 2026)

The US Court of International Trade has again begun hearing arguments on the legality of tariffs imposed unilaterally by US President Donald Trump, with the latest case centering on the new 10 percent tariffs imposed under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974.

The case concerns the tariffs introduced by President Trump to replace those ruled unlawful by the US Supreme Court, including the reciprocal tariffs imposed on America's trading partners and specific additional tariffs on Chinese, Mexican, and Chinese goods.

In place of the reciprocal tariffs and the so-called fentanyl tariffs, US President Donald Trump issued a Proclamation titled Imposing a Temporary Import Surcharge to Address Fundamental International Payments Problems. The import duty is being imposed under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which empowers the President to address certain fundamental international payment problems through surcharges and other special import restrictions.

The 1974 Act provisions are intended to equip the President with powers to stave off an imminent drop in the value of the dollar.

The Proclamation provided for the introduction of a 10 percent ad valorem import duty on articles imported into the United States, with effect from February 24 at 0:01 Eastern Standard Time. The import duty will be levied for 150 days.

At the hearing on April 10, 2026, the Court of International Trade heard from plaintiffs and the Administration regarding the basis for the Administration imposing the tariffs, being serious "balance of payments" problems being experienced by the US.