Or they’ll have to convince judges of a rather novel reading of Section 122 in which trade deficits are balance-of-payments deficits. The Trump team previously suggested Section 122 might not workImportantly, the Trump team itself has acknowledged this distinction. “These new tariffs are even more clearly illegal than Trump’s IEEPA tariffs,” McCarthy wrote, referring to Trump’s emergency tariffs that were just struck down. What happens if Trump’s tariffs are struck down … againThe tariffs are limited at 150 days, and the legal process could actually take longer than that. At that point, congressional Republicans might run out of patience for Trump’s tariffs gambit — especially given many of them have been skeptical from the start.

Source: CNN February 23, 2026 20:53 UTC