Trade Act of 1974, Section 122

a temporary import surcharge, not to exceed 15 percent ad valorem, in the form of duties ... for a period not exceeding 150 days (unless such period is extended by Act of Congress)

- Trade Act of 1974, § 122(a), , 19 U.S.C. § 2132(a)

What Is the Trade Act of 1974, Section 122?

Section 122 is the balance-of-payments valve, and it is the authority the administration reached for the moment IEEPA closed. It lets the President impose a temporary import surcharge to address "fundamental international payments problems." Congress built two hard limits into the text: the surcharge may not exceed 15 percent ad valorem, and it may not run longer than 150 days unless Congress extends it by statute. The President cannot extend it himself. It had never been used until 2026. On February 20, 2026, the same day the Supreme Court decided the IEEPA case, the President signed Proclamation 11012, imposing a 10 percent ad valorem duty on articles imported into the United States, with fourteen excluded categories including critical minerals, energy products, certain agricultural products, pharmaceuticals, certain electronics and passenger vehicles. The surcharge took effect February 24, 2026. By its own terms and by the statute's terms it runs out at 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on July 24, 2026. That is the 150-day mark. Because only an Act of Congress can extend it, and because the rate sits under the statutory cap rather than at it, Section 122 is best understood as a bridge rather than a destination. The question it raises is what the administration moves to when the bridge ends.