Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Trump’s First-Term Tariff on China

The first Trump administration imposed tariffs on Chinese goods using Section 301 of the Trade Act over China’s unfair trade practices.

A cargo ship sails into the port in Qingdao, Shandong Province, China, on Oct. 13, 2025. AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. Supreme Court on June 15 declined to hear a legal challenge to tariffs imposed on Chinese imports by U.S. President Donald Trump during his first term in 2018.

The decision follows an appeal by HMTX Industries and other businesses after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit last year upheld the tariffs, which Trump previously imposed on Chinese goods under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 in response to China’s unfair trade practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation.