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A US trade court on Thursday dealt President Donald Trump a fresh setback, ruling against the 10-percent global tariffs he instituted after the Supreme Court struck down many earlier duties.
The 2-1 ruling by the US Court of International Trade, for now, blocks the tariffs from being implemented against just two companies and the state of Washington — but it could open doors to further such outcomes.
The decision found that the latest duty was not justified under the 1970s law cited in its implementation.
Trump imposed the temporary 10-percent duty in February, shortly after the Supreme Court struck down many of his global tariffs.
The new tariff was meant to deal with balance of payments deficits, citing Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974.
It lasts only until late-July, unless extended by Congress, but the Trump administration has in the meantime been pursuing more lasting means to rebuild his trade agenda.
To do so, US officials have opened new investigations into dozens of trading partners over forced labor and overcapacity concerns — which could lead to fresh tariffs or other action.
The Court of International Trade ruling on Thursday ordered defendants to implement the decision within five days, and for the importers who sued in this case to receive refunds.
The Trump administration could appeal the trade court’s decision.
“Section 122 was passed in response to a specific historical crisis that resulted in the United States’s currency and gold reserves being depleted,” said Liberty Justice Center senior counsel Jeffrey Schwab after the ruling.
“The United States has a trade deficit, not a balance-of-payments deficit, and does not have international payments problem,” Schwab said in a statement.
Trump’s sector-specific tariffs on goods like steel, aluminum and autos remain unaffected by these legal challenges.
Yet, Thursday’s ruling marks the latest complication in Trump’s tariffs agenda.
Since the high court dealt a sharp blow to Trump’s economic policy, businesses have also rushed for refunds.
US Customs and Border Protection estimated in March that more than 330,000 importers could be eligible for refunds after the Supreme Court’s decision.
The tariffs that were earlier struck down, imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, collected approximately $166 billion in duties and estimated deposits.
A US congressman has called on the Trump administration to take “forceful action” to protect Christians in Nigeria’s Middle Belt after gunmen opened fire on mourners during a mass burial in Plateau State on Wednesday, killing several people at a site where communities had gathered to bury victims of an earlier attack.
Riley Moore made the demand in a statement Thursday, reacting to reports and eyewitness accounts from Barkin Ladi Local Government Area, where assailants emerged from surrounding hills and fired on residents assembled for the burial of seven people killed in a prior assault on Fan District. The attack had not been officially confirmed by Nigerian police as of Thursday, but eyewitness testimony from journalist Masara Kim, who was present at the scene, provided a detailed account of what unfolded.
“There is an ongoing massive attack on communities south of Jos. More than five communities are under simultaneous assault. While we were at the burial site, the attackers emerged from the hills and began shooting,” Kim said. He added that mourners “barely dug a shallow grave when the attackers struck,” forcing those gathered to flee before the burial could be completed.
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Moore’s statement drew a pointed contrast between Nigeria’s willingness to project military force beyond its own borders and what he characterized as its failure to protect its own citizens from recurring violence.
He referenced Nigeria’s December 2025 deployment of fighter jets and troops to Benin Republic to help suppress an attempted coup — an intervention that demonstrated both capability and political will. “Nigeria’s willingness to step in to stop a violent attack in another country, while they stand by as their own Christian citizens are brutalised, makes these absolutely horrific scenes unfolding in Plateau State all the more unconscionable,” Moore said.
He alleged that despite receiving early warnings of imminent attacks, Nigerian security forces were absent when the assault took place. “The Nigerian Government could root out the terrorism and stop the martyrdom of its own citizens. But, despite receiving early warnings of impending attacks, they are nowhere to be found as Christians are murdered for their faith, like lambs led to slaughter,” he said. “Enough is enough.”
Moore said he was encouraged that the Trump administration had incorporated the protection of Christians in Nigeria into its counterterrorism strategy, and urged the White House to move from policy language to concrete action. “Now, I am asking the Trump Administration to take forceful action to defend our innocent brothers and sisters in Christ in the Middle Belt of Nigeria, the epicentre of an ongoing Christian genocide,” he said.
