The Daily Fuckup

A federal trade court ruled on May 7, 2026, that the Section 122 tariffs were unlawful, but that ruling is not currently being enforced because the Federal Circuit entered an administrative stay on May 12, pausing the judgment and permanent injunction while it considers the government’s appeal. The Court of International Trade granted summary judgment to The State of Washington, Burlap and Barrel, Inc., and Basic Fun, Inc., and dismissed the other state plaintiffs for lack of standing. The injunction the court entered was limited to the successful plaintiffs, not a blanket order wiping out the tariff regime for everyone. ([cit.uscourts.gov](https://www.cit.uscourts.gov/sites/cit/files/26-47.pdf))

The chronology matters. The government appealed on May 8 and asked for a stay. The Federal Circuit granted an immediate administrative stay on May 12, temporarily suspending the CIT’s judgment and permanent injunction until it could consider a fuller stay request. When the Court of International Trade later denied the government’s motion for a stay pending appeal on May 20, that did not restart enforcement, because the appellate court’s stay was already in place. ([cit.uscourts.gov](https://www.cit.uscourts.gov/sites/cit/files/26-53.pdf))

The case centers on Proclamation No. 11012, issued Feb. 20, 2026, which imposed a temporary import surcharge under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. The trade court rejected that use of the statute. In its stay order, the court said the injunction applied only to the three importer plaintiffs that won on the merits, and it also noted that the government’s claimed enforcement problems did not justify a stay while the Federal Circuit was already considering the issue. ([cit.uscourts.gov](https://www.cit.uscourts.gov/sites/cit/files/26-47.pdf))

For now, the practical result is a paused injunction, not a final appellate win for either side. The tariff fight is still alive, but the order that knocked out Section 122 duties for the prevailing plaintiffs is frozen until the Federal Circuit acts again or the appeal is resolved. ([cit.uscourts.gov](https://www.cit.uscourts.gov/sites/cit/files/26-53.pdf))