CHICAGO, May 8, 2026 — The business community is awaiting President Trump’s next move on tariffs after a federal court struck down the Administration’s latest round of protective duties.
The White House is almost certain to appeal Thursday’s decision by the U.S. Court of International Trade that the War Powers Act of 1974 did not empower the president to impose an additional 10% tariff on virtually all goods shipped into the United States.
The court ruled that the 52-year-old law was written to protect the nation’s gold supply, long the foundation of a U.S. dollar’s worth. But the nation came off the gold standard even before the law was passed, rendering it moot, according to the panel of judges who heard the challenge.
The decision will initially provide little relief to parties affected by the 10% surcharges. Its scope is limited to two importers of retail goods, including Tonka-brand toy trucks, and importers based in the state of Washington. But the ruling opens the door to legal challenges of the 10% duties by any party paying them.
At the very least, it will discourage the Administration from raising the across-the-board duties to 15%, as Trump has threatened to do since his earlier round of tariff were struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in February.
Although the Administration lost the suits filed by Washington state and the two importing companies, it did score some points in the legal wrangling. Washington had initially been one of 24 states that had joined forces to challenge the 10% duties. But the International Trade Court ruled that 23 of the plaintiff states had no legal grounds to sue and stripped them from the complaint. Essentially, it decided the states had not proved they’d been hurt by the duties.
Tariffs have been a foundation of Trump’s international trade policies. He has vigorously contended that the protective duties would spur more domestic production of goods the country currently imports.
Because the import duties reflect the surcharges levied on U.S goods, the steep tariffs would pressure nations to lower their charges on incoming shipments from America.
Trump’s tariffs have been a worry for the food-away-from-home industry since first being revealed in April. The business is dependent on a number of goods that cannot be produced at scale domestically, like coffee and cocoa.
The charges are seen as an additional force of menu inflation, which is widely blamed for a decline this year in restaurant transactions.