What's Section 122? Explaining Trump's new tariff toolkit

The Supreme Court struck down the Trump administration's tariffs in a 6-3 ruling, concluding the president overstepped his authority by relying on a law normally reserved for emergencies. Taxing imports remains central to the president's economic policy, and he told reporters, "We have very powerful alternatives," as the White House outlined other options.

The administration can turn to several statutes: Sections 301 and 232 of the Trade Act of 1974 and Section 122 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act. Trump said, "Effective immediately, all national security tariffs under Section 232, and existing Section 301 tariffs ...

remain in place," and that he would "sign an order to impose a 10% global tariff under Section 122, over and above our normal tariffs already being charged." Each law works differently. Section 301 lets the U.S. place duties on goods from specific countries that "either violated international trade law or otherwise acted unfairly," and can be used to fold trade deals into enforcement.

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