Within hours of the US Supreme Court voiding President Donald Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose broad tariffs, the White House invoked Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. The statute authorizes a surcharge of up to 15 percent and limits it to 150 days unless Congress acts.
Bracewell’s Josh Zive told Engineering News-Record Section 122 presents immediate exposure precisely because it has little litigation history.
“The most immediate threat is the Section 122 tariffs that have already been put in place,” Zive said. The global surcharge “covers a wide range of materials,” and “a vast amount of construction equipment will end up touched by those tariffs.”
