What's the Medium Term for U.S. Tariffs?

Feb. 23, 2026
By: Pietro N. Bianchi

President Trump and his officials acted swiftly in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision striking down thee International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”) tariffs in Learning Resources v. United States. Hours after that decision, the President imposed, starting February 24, 2026, a 10% global tariff under Section 122. The President later posted that the rate will be 15%. However, Section 122 tariffs can only be imposed for a period of 150 days. So, what happens after the Section 122 tariffs expire on July 24, 2026?

The 150-day period can be extended by an Act of Congress, which requires a simple majority vote. But it does not seem like the Trump administration is betting on Congress to support its policy. This is probably smart, considering the loss in the House on Canadian tariffs. USTR Greer issued a statement that the USTR is initiating several investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to “deal with unjustifiable, unreasonable, discriminatory, and burdensome acts, policies, and practices by many trading partners.” Ambassador Greer further stated that these investigations will cover “most major trading partners” and will be conducted on “an accelerated timeframe, in keeping with the Section 301 statute’s substantive and procedural requirements.”

As some will recognize, Section 301 is generally thought of as the duties Trump imposed on China during his first term. However, Nicaragua also currently has Section 301 duties and there is an ongoing investigation on Brazil. Section 301 is less agile procedurally than Section 122 (or than the Administration’s conception of IEEPA). There are procedures beyond declaring an emergency for establishing duties and for modifying rates after duties are established. The law provides maximum, not minimum, deadlines for conducting a Section 301 investigation and these investigations have taken considerably more time than 150 days in the past. It is unclear how fast a motivated USTR can get through the procedural requirements and public comment periods for a single investigation, let alone numerous investigations on “most major trading partners.”

While Section 301 does have more procedural requirements, once a 301 case is in place it is very likely to be more difficult to remove. Therefore, companies should very strongly consider participating in the Section 301 process for countries in which they operate. After all, procedural requirements and public comment periods are only as valuable as the use the people they are meant to protect put them to.

If you have questions about IEEPA, Section 122, Section 301 or other trade remedies do not hesitate to contact an attorney at Barnes Richardson, & Colburn LLP.