On Tuesday morning, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told CNBC that new tariffs on dozens of countries are coming. "We expect to see some action soon," he said. He could not specify a timeline, citing his obligation to brief Congress first.
The timeline is printed in the statute. The 10 percent global import surcharge that has been in effect since February 24 expires at 12:01 a.m. Eastern on Friday. Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 caps temporary balance-of-payments tariffs at 150 days unless Congress votes to extend them. No extension legislation is pending.
The Handoff
This is the third legal authority to carry the same tariff rate in five months.
On April 2, 2025, the administration imposed worldwide tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a 1977 law designed for sanctions and asset freezes in genuine emergencies. On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs. The Liberation Day regime was invalidated overnight.
Four days later, a 10 percent global surcharge appeared under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. Same rate. Different statute. The switch took a weekend.
Section 122 was written for balance-of-payments crises. Its 150-day limit was Congress's way of ensuring temporary authority remained temporary. The clock started February 24. It runs out Friday.
The replacement is already built. In March, USTR opened Section 301 investigations into 60 economies covering, in Greer's words, "about 99 percent of our trade." In June, it proposed tariffs of 10 percent on countries that prohibit forced labor in trade and 12.5 percent on those that do not. Brazil's 25 percent Section 301 tariffs took effect this week.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the quiet part in February: combining Section 122, Section 232, and Section 301 authority would produce "virtually unchanged tariff revenue in 2026."
The Archaeology
On Monday, the administration opened a fourth front. Three presidential proclamations imposed 50 percent tariffs on Canadian motor vehicles, alcoholic beverages, and dairy products under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930. Section 338 is part of the Smoot-Hawley Act. It has not been invoked since 1949. The tariffs take effect August 19.
The regime is now drawing from statutes spanning nearly half a century of trade legislation: 1930, 1962, 1974, and 1977. Each was written for a different problem. None was designed for this one. But each authorizes duties, and that is all that matters.
The Baton
The forced labor framing is worth examining. Section 301 requires USTR to identify specific unfair practices before imposing tariffs. The investigation determined that 60 economies fail to adequately prevent trade in forced-labor goods. Countries with full or partial prohibitions receive the 10 percent rate. Those without receive 12.5 percent.
The penalty for tolerating forced labor in your supply chain is 2.5 percentage points. The justification followed a legal process. The rate followed a revenue target. Bessent already named it: virtually unchanged.
No one repealed the tariff. The Supreme Court struck down the legal authority. The 150-day clock expires the replacement. Both times, the rate survived by finding a new statute. IEEPA fell and the rate moved to Section 122. Section 122 expires Friday and the rate moves to Section 301. Section 338 covers the flanks.
The tariff is not a policy attached to a law. It is a rate in search of a statute, and every time one legal authority is exhausted, the next is already loaded. The baton never touches the ground.