A temporary tax on imported goods, called the Section 122 surcharge, ends on July 24, 2026, at 12:01 a.m. EDT. It goes away automatically. The law that created it — Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 — says this kind of tariff can last no more than 150 days. The clock started February 24, and it runs out no matter what the White House wants.

A tariff is a tax the government puts on goods coming into the country. If you import something, you pay the tariff at the border. The money goes to the U.S. government. Tariffs make imported goods more expensive, which can push buyers toward domestic products.

The surcharge began with a presidential action on February 20, 2026, titled "Imposing a Temporary Import Surcharge to Address Fundamental International Payments Problems," listed on USTR's Presidential Tariff Actions page. USTR stands for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, a government agency that handles trade policy.

The 150-day limit matters because the U.S. Trade Court struck down the Section 122 tariffs in a ruling issued on or before May 2026. The court's decision did not immediately cancel the surcharge, but it signaled that the legal authority behind it was weak.

The day after that ruling's direction became clear, on February 21, 2026, President Trump said he would raise the U.S. global tariff rate from 10% to 15%. That was both an escalation and a shift — away from the Section 122 tool toward a broader tariff on all imports.

Trump's tariff strategy has run on several tracks since the start of his second term. The America First Trade Policy presidential action, issued January 20, 2025, set up the framework. It also referenced a July 2026 review of the USMCA — the trade agreement between the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. That review is now imminent. In April 2025, Trump announced a base tariff rate of 10% on most countries, with extra country-specific duties up to 50%, though the start date was later delayed.

Reciprocal tariffs — which are set to match what other countries charge the U.S. — have been extended and changed several times. In July 2025, Trump signed an executive order extending certain reciprocal tariff rates that were set to expire on July 9. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that month that about 100 countries could see a reciprocal tariff rate of 10%. Country-specific rates have been negotiated one-on-one: a U.S.-India Joint Statement from February 2026 confirmed that the United States will apply a reciprocal tariff rate of 18% to India under Executive Order 14257 of April 2, 2025.

Executive Order 14389, issued February 20, 2026, ended certain tariff actions, consistent with the launch of the Section 122 surcharge as a replacement tool. The 2026 Trade Policy Agenda and 2025 Annual Report published by USTR on February 16, 2026, addresses Section 122 in Chapter IV and Annex V, as required by law.

A White House fact sheet published June 1, 2026, announced a proclamation expanding the existing 15% tariff category on industrial equipment to include mobile industrial equipment. J.P. Morgan Global Research has reported that the White House announced it is reducing tariffs, suggesting some pullbacks alongside the expansions.

The legal foundations are still disputed. Le Monde published an opinion piece on March 3, 2026, arguing that Trump's new tariffs are "as legally shaky as those struck down by the Supreme Court." The Section 122 court ruling and the Supreme Court's earlier invalidation of separate tariff measures create a narrowing legal path for the administration.

For importers, the July 24 expiration creates an immediate shift. Goods that enter the country before the cutoff stay subject to the surcharge. Goods that enter after are not — unless the administration sets up a replacement. Trade lawyers have flagged the need to manage entry dates carefully around the 12:01 a.m. EDT deadline to avoid overpaying or missing compliance rules.

The broader context here is that the Section 122 expiration does not mean tariffs are going away. The administration has a pattern of swapping one legal tool for another when courts or laws get in the way. The February shift to a 15% global rate, the June expansion of industrial equipment tariffs, and ongoing country-by-country negotiations all point to a tariff regime that stays high even as the specific legal mechanism changes.

The July 2026 USMCA review referenced in the America First Trade Policy memo adds another decision point. Renegotiating or withdrawing from that agreement would reset tariff schedules for North American supply chains, which handle a large share of U.S. import volume.

For anyone managing money or supply chains, the real question is not whether tariffs go down but which legal tool carries them next. The 150-day clock on Section 122 is the constraint, and the clock has run out.