Trump Administration Requests Trade Court to Stay Section 122 Tariffs Injunction During Appeal

U.S. Court of International Trade on May 11, 2026 to pause its ruling blocking the president's Section 122 tariffs. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer warned in a court declaration that suspending the 10% tariff could undermine talks with trading partners.

"If certain key trading partners walk away from the table now, these negotiations may never resume," Greer wrote. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick wrote in a separate declaration that removing the tariffs during the appeal would cause immediate economic disruption.

"Premature removal of the surcharge would usher in a flood of imports that characterized the pre-global tariff landscape," Lutnick wrote.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which is already processing roughly $166 billion in refunds tied to the earlier IEEPA tariffs. CBP official Brandon Lord said implementing the injunction for additional importers would become increasingly unworkable.

There are more than 13 million entry summaries involving Section 122 duties. The government continues collecting the Section 122 tariffs from most importers while the litigation proceeds. The Court of International Trade ruled against the administration on the Section 122 tariffs last week relative to May 11, 2026.

The case was brought by two small businesses and the state of Washington. The ruling applies only to those plaintiffs. Liberty Justice Center Senior Counsel Jeffrey Schwab criticized the administration's request for a stay.

"They should not pass illegal tariffs and then complain about the results of getting them struck down," Schwab said. Schwab said the plaintiffs would oppose the stay request.

"The court found that the proclamation was unlawful under Section 122, so I think that's a very big deal," Schwab said. The administration has already appealed the trade court ruling to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and said it would seek emergency relief there if the trade court denies its stay request.

The Section 122 tariffs were imposed after the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in February 2026 that Trump's earlier global tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act were unlawful.

Before that Supreme Court decision, Trump repeatedly warned the ruling would leave the nation defenseless and near Third World status. The administration pivoted to Section 122 within hours of the Supreme Court ruling in February 2026. At the same time, the administration is preparing alternative tariff authorities.

Trump said on Truth Social on May 10, 2026 that using Section 301 authority would be far slower and more laborious. U.S. trading partners.

Section 301 hearings concluded on May 9, 2026. New tariffs under Section 301 could take effect as early as July 2026. U.S.

Consumers bear most tariff costs while 12% of voters said foreign countries primarily pay tariffs.