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(ATTN: CHANGES dateline; ADDS response from Cheong Wa Dae, additional info in last 3 paras)
By Song Sang-ho

WASHINGTON/SEOUL, May 8 (Yonhap) -- The U.S. trade court ruled Thursday against President Donald Trump's 10 percent global tariffs in another legal setback to his trade policy, as his administration is already working to replace its emergency duties struck down by the Supreme Court in February.

In a 2-1 ruling, the three-judge panel at the U.S. Court of International Trade concluded that the sweeping tariffs are not justified under Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act, which Trump invoked to impose the levies, according to Reuters and the Associated Press.

The Trump administration is expected to appeal the court decision.

The temporary across-the-board tariffs took effect Feb. 24, days after the Supreme Court ruled against Trump's use of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to justify country-specific "reciprocal" tariffs and other duties.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at the White House in Washington on Feb. 20, 2026, in this file photo released by Reuters. (Yonhap)

Trump turned to Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act as it allows the president to impose import surcharges of up to 15 percent and other measures, such as import quotas, to address serious external trade and financial imbalances. Those measures can initially last for up to five months.

The latest tariffs were set to expire July 24.

Thursday's ruling came as Washington is taking a set of steps that would result in new tariffs.

In March, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) opened trade investigations into South Korea, China, Japan and 13 other economies to uncover "unfair" trade practices related to "structural" excess capacity and production in manufacturing sectors.

The investigation is proceeding under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act -- a legal provision that allows the USTR to investigate unfair foreign trade practices on a country-by-country basis.

Also in March, the USTR opened Section 301 investigations into 60 economies, including South Korea, China and Japan, to determine whether their governments have taken sufficient steps to ban the importation of goods produced with forced labor.

Shortly after the U.S. court ruling, South Korea's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said the country will continue to keep close tabs on the latest developments.

"The government plans to closely monitor the related developments and respond calmly under the principle of maintaining the balance of benefits under the existing South Korea-U.S. tariff agreement," a presidential official said.

Seoul and Washington reached the bilateral agreement last year, under which the U.S. agreed to lower its reciprocal tariffs on South Korea to 15 percent from 25 percent in exchange for Seoul's US$350 billion investment to the U.S.

sshluck@yna.co.kr
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