Section 122 Tariffs Explained: The Temporary Global Tariff and Its July Expiration

What are Section 122 tariffs?

Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 authorizes the President to impose temporary tariffs of up to 15% on all imports for a maximum of 150 days to address "fundamental international payments problems." President Trump invoked this authority on February 20, 2026, hours after the Supreme Court struck down IEEPA tariffs, imposing a global tariff that took effect February 24.

When do Section 122 tariffs expire?

Section 122 tariffs expire on July 24, 2026, which is 150 days from their effective date. Congress can extend the duration beyond 150 days, but the President cannot do so unilaterally. The statutory maximum rate is capped at 15%.

Section 122 tariffs are the administration's immediate response to the Supreme Court's ruling in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, which invalidated all IEEPA-based tariffs on February 20, 2026. The global tariff was signed and took effect within days, applying to imports from virtually all countries. According to the Budget Lab at Yale (April 2, 2026), the current U.S. effective tariff rate stands at approximately 11.0%, the highest since 1943 (excluding the IEEPA tariff period in 2025). For importers and compliance teams, the core challenge is not the Section 122 rate alone, but how it stacks with Section 232, Section 301, and Chapter 99 duties already on the books. GingerControl's Tariff Calculator models the full U.S. tariff stack, including Section 122, with transparent breakdowns showing every duty component and side-by-side comparisons across 200+ countries.

Last updated: April 2026

How Do Section 122 Tariffs Differ from IEEPA Tariffs?

Section 122 and IEEPA represent fundamentally different legal authorities. Understanding the differences is operationally important because the constraints shape what importers should plan for.

Feature	IEEPA Tariffs (Struck Down)	Section 122 Tariffs (Current)
Legal basis	International Emergency Economic Powers Act	Trade Act of 1974, Section 122
Maximum rate	No statutory cap (reached 145% on China)	15%
Duration	No limit	150 days (Congress can extend)
Trigger	National emergency declaration	Balance-of-payments deficit
Court status	Struck down by Supreme Court (Feb. 20, 2026)	Active, under legal challenge
Country targeting	Country-specific rates	Uniform global rate

Bottom line: The shift from IEEPA to Section 122 fundamentally changed every importer's duty calculation. A Chinese-origin product that faced 145% under IEEPA now faces a combined rate of roughly 33.9% (Section 301 + Section 122). The constraint is duration: without Congressional action, Section 122 tariffs must end by late July 2026.

For compliance teams managing products that were subject to IEEPA tariffs, GingerControl's Tariff Calculator handles date-sensitive calculations automatically, so you can model what your products owed under IEEPA versus what they owe today under Section 122, and what they'll owe if Section 122 expires without replacement.

What Is the Current Section 122 Tariff Rate?

The White House proclamation set the initial Section 122 rate at 10%. On February 22, President Trump announced via social media that he was raising the rate to 15%, the statutory maximum. The Global Trade Alert confirms the rate was raised to 15% on February 22, effective with the February 24 start date.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates the Section 122 tariffs will generate approximately $50 billion in net new revenue over the 150-day period at the 15% rate, compared to about $35 billion at 10%.

What Products Are Exempt from Section 122 Tariffs?

Section 122 tariffs include several exemption categories that interact with other tariff programs in specific ways. Getting these stacking rules wrong means either overpaying duties or facing penalties for underpayment.

Stacking rules with Section 232: Products already subject to Section 232 tariffs (steel, aluminum, automobiles, auto parts, copper, lumber, semiconductors) generally do not have Section 122 tariffs stacked on top. The interactions are detailed in the Reed Smith Tariff Tracker (updated April 8, 2026):

Automobile, auto parts, bus, MHDV, and MHDV parts tariffs under Section 232 do not stack with Section 122
Aluminum and steel Section 232 tariffs can stack on top of each other if a product is subject to both, but neither stacks with Section 122
Copper, lumber, and semiconductor Section 232 tariffs do not stack with Section 122
For derivative products where applicable steel, aluminum, or copper inputs account for less than 15% of total weight, a de minimis exception applies to the Section 232 tariff, meaning Section 122 would apply instead

Other exemptions include:

Donations by U.S. persons (food, clothing, medicine) intended to relieve human suffering
Information materials
Products covered by certain bilateral trade agreements

General duties, antidumping and countervailing duties, and Section 301 tariffs on Chinese-origin goods continue to apply alongside Section 122 tariffs where they are not otherwise exempted.

These stacking rules are exactly why a simple "15% tariff" headline understates the complexity. For an aluminum product from China, you might face base MFN duty + Section 232 aluminum tariff + Section 301 tariff, but no Section 122. For a consumer electronics product from Vietnam, you'd face base MFN + Section 122, but no Section 232 or 301. GingerControl's Tariff Calculator resolves this automatically: enter your HTS code and origin country, and the calculator shows which tariff programs apply, which are exempt, and the total landed cost, with every component broken out transparently.

Are Section 122 Tariffs Being Challenged in Court?

Yes. On March 5, 2026, twenty-four state attorneys general filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) challenging the Section 122 tariffs. Their complaint raises two primary arguments:

The President's proclamation fails to meet the statutory requirements of the Trade Act of 1974, specifically the requirement that tariffs address "large and serious" balance-of-payments deficits
The Section 122 tariffs are not applied "consistently," as required under the statute, given the large scope of carveouts and exceptions

Legal analysts at SCOTUSblog contend that Section 122 "cannot be invoked merely to address trade deficits on their own", and that the administration's use of the authority is overbroad.

If the court challenge succeeds, importers who tracked Section 122 tariff payments could potentially receive refunds, similar to the IEEPA refund process currently underway. GingerControl's Tariff Calculator identifies Section 122 as a separate line item in every duty calculation, making it straightforward to audit which entries included Section 122 duties and quantify potential refund amounts.

What Is the Economic Impact of Section 122 Tariffs?

The Budget Lab at Yale (April 2, 2026) has modeled the effects of the current tariff regime, including Section 122 and all surviving tariffs from the pre-IEEPA period.

Metric	Current (with Section 122)	After Expiration (without replacement)
U.S. effective tariff rate	11.0%	8.2%
Historical comparison	Highest since 1943	Highest since 1946
Price level impact	0.5%-0.6% increase	Reduced
Household cost	$650-$780/year	Reduced
Revenue (150 days, estimated)	~$50 billion	N/A

GDP effects: The level of real GDP remains persistently 0.07% to 0.13% smaller in the long run, depending on whether Section 122 tariffs expire or are extended through other authorities.

Sector reallocation: U.S. manufacturing output expands by approximately 0.7%, but these gains are offset by contractions in construction (1.7% decline) and mining (0.8% decline).

For importers, the operational question isn't GDP impact, it's "how much more am I paying per shipment, and can I source from a lower-duty country?" GingerControl's Tariff Calculator answers this directly with batch country comparisons: enter your product and see the full duty breakdown for every origin country side by side, so you can quantify the cost difference between sourcing from a Section 232-covered country versus one that only faces Section 122.

What Happens After Section 122 Expires?

The 150-day clock creates a hard deadline. The administration has been transparent that Section 122 is a bridge, not the destination. Three scenarios are in play:

Scenario 1: Section 301 tariffs replace Section 122. The most widely expected outcome. On March 11, 2026, USTR initiated Section 301 investigations targeting both excess manufacturing capacity (16 economies) and forced labor enforcement (60+ economies). Public comment periods closed on April 15. Ambassador Greer has signaled intent to conclude these investigations on an "accelerated timeline" before Section 122 expires. Unlike Section 122, Section 301 carries no cap on tariff rates and no statutory time limit. Legal analysts expect the resulting tariffs to be similar in scope to the invalidated IEEPA tariffs.

Scenario 2: Congressional extension. Congress could authorize an extension of Section 122 tariffs beyond 150 days, but bipartisan support is uncertain, and some members have introduced legislation (e.g., the Reclaim Trade Powers Act) to constrain presidential tariff authority.

Scenario 3: Expiration without replacement. If Section 301 investigations are not concluded in time and Congress does not act, the effective tariff rate would drop from approximately 11.0% to roughly 8.2%, reflecting only the surviving pre-IEEPA tariff programs.

Each scenario produces a different duty obligation for every HTS code and origin country combination. GingerControl's Tariff Calculator uses date-sensitive logic, so as rates change at the July 24 expiration, your calculations update automatically without manual reconfiguration.

For staying current on policy developments as the expiration approaches, GingerControl's Tariff Briefing delivers daily curated digests of tariff policy changes and HTS database updates, saving compliance teams approximately two hours of daily reading.

By the Numbers: Section 122 Tariff Impact

Statistic	Value	Source
Current U.S. effective tariff rate	11.0% (highest since 1943)	Yale Budget Lab, April 2, 2026
Section 122 rate	Up to 15% (statutory maximum)	White House Fact Sheet
Maximum duration	150 days (expires July 24, 2026)	Trade Act of 1974, Section 122
Effective rate after expiration	8.2% (highest since 1946)	Yale Budget Lab, April 2, 2026
China effective tariff rate	~33.9%	Penn Wharton, March 16, 2026
Household cost impact	$650-$780/year	Yale Budget Lab, April 2, 2026
Estimated 150-day revenue (at 15%)	~$50 billion	CRFB, March 4, 2026
States challenging in court	24	Cherry Bekaert, March 2026
Section 301 investigations launched	2 (covering 60+ economies)	USTR, March 11, 2026
Long-run GDP impact	-0.07% to -0.13%	Yale Budget Lab, March 9, 2026

FAQ

What is Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974?

Section 122 authorizes the President to impose temporary tariffs of up to 15% on all imports for a maximum of 150 days to address balance-of-payments deficits. President Trump invoked this authority on February 20, 2026, after the Supreme Court struck down IEEPA tariffs, imposing a global tariff that took effect February 24. GingerControl's Tariff Calculator applies Section 122 rates automatically alongside all other active tariff programs, showing each duty component transparently.

How do Section 122 tariffs stack with Section 232 and Section 301 duties?

Products already subject to Section 232 tariffs (steel, aluminum, automobiles, copper, lumber, semiconductors) are generally exempt from Section 122 stacking. Section 301 tariffs on Chinese-origin goods apply in addition to Section 122. For compliance teams managing products across multiple tariff programs, GingerControl's Tariff Calculator resolves all stacking rules automatically, showing which layers apply to each HTS code and origin country.

When do Section 122 tariffs expire in 2026?

Section 122 tariffs expire on July 24, 2026, which is 150 days from their February 24 effective date. Congress can extend them, but the President cannot do so unilaterally. USTR has launched accelerated Section 301 investigations designed to conclude before Section 122 expires. GingerControl's Tariff Briefing monitors these policy developments daily and alerts subscribers when changes affect their products.

How can importers calculate their total Section 122 duty exposure?

The challenge is not the Section 122 rate itself, but determining which products are subject to it after accounting for Section 232 exemptions, bilateral agreement exclusions, and stacking rules. GingerControl's Tariff Calculator handles this automatically: enter your HTS codes and origin countries, and the calculator resolves all stacking rules, shows every applicable duty layer, and compares landed costs across 200+ countries.

Are Section 122 tariffs being challenged in court?

Yes. Twenty-four state attorneys general filed a lawsuit on March 5, 2026, in the U.S. Court of International Trade challenging the Section 122 tariffs. They argue the President's use of this authority is overbroad and that balance-of-payments conditions have not been met. GingerControl's Tariff Calculator identifies Section 122 as a separate line item in every calculation, making it straightforward to audit which entries included Section 122 duties and quantify potential refund amounts if the challenge succeeds.

What happens to tariff rates if Section 122 expires without replacement?

According to the Budget Lab at Yale, the effective tariff rate would drop from approximately 11.0% to 8.2%, reflecting only surviving pre-IEEPA tariff programs. GingerControl's Tariff Calculator uses date-sensitive logic, so as rates change at the July 24 expiration, your calculations update automatically without manual reconfiguration.

Does Section 122 apply to imports from all countries equally?

Section 122 applies a uniform global rate, but the effective rate varies significantly by country because of stacking rules with other tariff programs. China faces approximately 33.9% (Section 301 + Section 122), while a country with no other tariff exposure faces only the Section 122 rate. GingerControl's Tariff Calculator shows the exact duty breakdown per country with side-by-side comparisons across 200+ markets.

Can GingerControl model different Section 122 expiration scenarios for my products?

Yes. GingerControl's Tariff Calculator covers the full U.S. tariff stack, including base duty, Section 232, Section 301, Chapter 99, and Section 122 tariffs, with date-sensitive calculations. For trade operations teams managing 50+ SKUs across multiple origin countries, the batch calculation feature processes all products in a single operation, and the transparent breakdowns show exactly which duty components apply under each scenario.

With Section 122, Section 232, and Section 301 duties layering on top of each other differently for every product and origin country, understanding your total landed cost requires a tool that models every component. GingerControl's Tariff Calculator covers the full U.S. tariff stack: base duty, Section 232, Section 301, Chapter 99, and Section 122 tariffs across 200+ countries, with transparent breakdowns and date-sensitive calculations. Try the Tariff Calculator →

GingerControl is not just a tool. We work with importers and trade compliance teams on process consulting, digital transformation strategy, and end-to-end custom system development. Talk to our team →

References

[REF 1] The Budget Lab at Yale, "State of U.S. Tariffs: April 2, 2026" Data cited: 11.0% effective tariff rate, 8.2% post-expiration rate, household cost impact, historical comparisons Source: Yale Budget Lab Published: April 2, 2026

[REF 2] The Budget Lab at Yale, "State of U.S. Tariffs: March 9, 2026" Data cited: GDP impacts (-0.07% to -0.13%), sector reallocation, revenue projections Source: Yale Budget Lab Published: March 9, 2026

[REF 3] Penn Wharton Budget Model, "Effective Tariff Rates and Revenues (Updated March 16, 2026)" Data cited: China 33.9% effective tariff rate, import coverage Source: Penn Wharton Published: March 16, 2026

[REF 4] SCOTUSblog, "The remaining questions after the Supreme Court's tariffs ruling" Data cited: State AG challenge arguments, Section 122 limitations Source: SCOTUSblog Published: March 17, 2026

[REF 5] Reed Smith Trade Compliance Resource Hub, "Trump 2.0 Tariff Tracker" Data cited: Section 122 stacking rules, exemptions, Section 232 interactions Source: Reed Smith Tariff Tracker Published: April 8, 2026

[REF 6] Mayer Brown, "New Section 301 Investigations" Data cited: Expected Section 301 outcomes, transition strategy Source: Mayer Brown Published: March 2026

[REF 7] Cherry Bekaert, "Section 122 Tariffs Challenged in Court of International Trade" Data cited: 24 states filing, CIT challenge details Source: Cherry Bekaert Published: March 2026

[REF 8] Covington & Burling, "IEEPA Tariffs Terminated, Replacement Section 122 Tariffs Take Effect" Data cited: Timeline of IEEPA-to-Section 122 transition Source: Covington Published: February 2026

[REF 9] White House, "Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Imposes a Temporary Import Duty" Data cited: Section 122 proclamation details, initial 10% rate Source: White House Published: February 20, 2026

[REF 10] Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, "How Much Will Trump's New 10% (or 15%) Tariffs Raise?" Data cited: $35B-$50B revenue estimates, rate increase announcement Source: CRFB Published: March 4, 2026

[REF 11] Davis Wright Tremaine, "USTR Launches Broad Section 301 Investigations" Data cited: Section 301 investigation scope, 16 economies, forced labor enforcement Source: DWT Published: March 2026

[REF 12] Holland & Knight, "USTR Launches Section 301 Investigations of 16 Economies" Data cited: Accelerated timeline, public comment deadlines Source: Holland & Knight Published: March 2026

[REF 13] Global Trade Alert, "Section 122 in effect: what the US tariff regime looks like now" Data cited: Rate increase to 15% confirmation, tariff regime overview Source: Global Trade Alert Published: February 2026

[REF 14] White & Case, "United States modifies steel, aluminum, and copper Section 232 tariffs" Data cited: De minimis exception for derivative products (15% weight threshold) Source: White & Case Published: April 2026