Critics of New Trump Tariffs Face an Uphill Battle in the Courts

Shipping containers on a ship at the Port of Savannah in Savannah, Georgia.

The second Trump administration has launched a volley of tariffs while also laying the groundwork for future duties on imports, and legal experts admit that importers will have a difficult time getting U.S. courts to unravel them.

The first Trump administration, now in the rearview, provides lessons on how the newest tariffs will hold up. During his first administration, Trump used Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to enact tariffs on aluminum and steel products from around the world and on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods. Both tranches of duties sparked a wave of litigation. But the Federal Circuit has twice backed the aluminum and steel duties in rulings that the Supreme Court has declined to review. And while importers have found more success against the Section 301 tariffs in the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT), the case is still pending in the Federal Circuit.