The Daily Fuckup

The fight over Trump’s Section 122 tariffs is no longer just a policy argument. It already produced a merits ruling, and the case is now in the appellate lane.

Oregon’s litigation tracker says the Court of International Trade issued an opinion and judgment on May 7, 2026, striking down the president’s Section 122 tariffs. The tracker also says the Federal Circuit later granted the federal defendants’ motion for a stay pending appeal on June 11, 2026. In other words, the case did not end with the trial court’s judgment; it moved into the next phase while the stay keeps the ruling from immediately taking effect. The underlying dispute is narrow and specific: whether Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 authorizes tariffs imposed in response to trade deficits, which the administration cited in its proclamation. ([doj.state.or.us](https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/federal-oversight/federal-litigation-tracker/tariffs-oregon-v-trump-court-of-international-trade/))

That procedural posture matters. This is not a vague cloud of uncertainty hanging over tariffs in the abstract. There is already a district-court ruling on the books, an appeal underway, and a stay order controlling what happens while the higher court considers the case. The legal question is therefore less about whether the issue is live than about which ruling will govern next and how quickly the courts will settle that question. ([doj.state.or.us](https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/federal-oversight/federal-litigation-tracker/tariffs-oregon-v-trump-court-of-international-trade/))

The consequence for importers, manufacturers, and anyone setting prices around the duties is the same basic one: the rules are in flux because the litigation is active. But the record now shows exactly why. The government lost in the Court of International Trade, then won a stay at the Federal Circuit, and the appeal remains pending. That is a real procedural record, not just generalized uncertainty. ([doj.state.or.us](https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/federal-oversight/federal-litigation-tracker/tariffs-oregon-v-trump-court-of-international-trade/))

One thing this case should not be confused with is the earlier IEEPA tariff fight. That was a separate theory, and it was resolved on a different track. The live case here is the Section 122 challenge, and as of July 10, 2026, the relevant story is the appeal from the May 7 judgment and the June 11 stay that followed. ([doj.state.or.us](https://www.doj.state.or.us/oregon-department-of-justice/federal-oversight/federal-litigation-tracker/tariffs-oregon-v-trump-court-of-international-trade/))