- Lead. The Trump administration’s 10% blanket Section 122 surcharge on virtually all US imports expires Thursday, July 24 — but businesses that hoped for relief face a near-immediate Section 301 replacement with no statutory time limit.
- Fact. A federal court ruled in May that the surcharge exceeded presidential authority, yet the tariff kept collecting as the government appealed; those collections will not automatically be refunded for most importers.
- Stake. Section 301 carries none of Section 122’s 150-day cap and requires no balance-of-payments justification, leaving the administration with a broader and harder-to-challenge legal foundation for the next round of import duties.
President Trump’s Proclamation 11012, issued on February 20, 2026, imposed a temporary 10% surcharge on virtually all imports under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, effective February 24. The surcharge expires July 24 without Congressional extension — and an extension, according to trade attorneys tracking the matter, is considered unlikely. The administration has made clear it intends to replace the Section 122 instrument with Section 301 tariffs already under investigation, according to Holland & Knight’s trade practice.
What the Court Said
On May 7, the US Court of International Trade ruled in Oregon v. United States and Burlap and Barrel, Inc. v. United States that the administration exceeded its statutory authority. The two-judge majority found that Section 122 requires the president to identify “large and serious” balance-of-payments deficits using measurement methods Congress contemplated in 1974, and that the administration’s reliance on current account and goods trade deficit figures did not satisfy that test.
The government appealed, and the tariff continued to collect on virtually all non-plaintiff imports during the appeal period. For plaintiff importers — including the state of Washington — collections have halted and refunds are available through Customs procedures. For the broad majority of importers outside the litigation, the 10% rate remained in force until Thursday’s expiry.
The Replacement Regime
The transition to Section 301 authority carries meaningful differences. Unlike Section 122, which is capped at 150 days and requires a specific balance-of-payments finding, Section 301 investigations face no statutory duration limits and can justify tariffs on a much wider range of economic-security grounds. Multiple Section 301 investigations have been running concurrently with the Section 122 period, and the administration expects to have those conclusions ready to slot in as the temporary surcharge lapses.
This shift places the expiring 10% blanket rate in the broader context of aggressive tariff deployment that has defined trade policy since early 2026. Importers should preserve entry documentation and monitor deadlines for post-summary corrections and protests — claims for refunds on Section 122 duties may remain open even after the tariff expires, but procedural windows are finite.
What Comes Next
The near-term impact will depend on how quickly Section 301 rates are announced and how broadly they are applied. Sectors that received targeted relief from Section 122 in specific product exclusions may find themselves reclassified in the new round. The underlying trade deficit dynamic has not shifted: the US trade deficit reached $77.6 billion in May, its widest reading in months, giving the administration fresh political motivation to sustain import pressure through whatever legal instrument survives court scrutiny.