REUTERS, New York

The Trump administration on Friday appealed ​a court ruling that found a 10 percent global tariff imposed in February was not ‌justified under a 1970s trade law.

The US Court of International Trade ruled on Thursday in a 2-1 decision that Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act was not meant to address trade deficits that ​occur when the US imports more goods than it exports.

The court, however, ​only blocked the tariffs for three importers that sued - two small businesses and the state of Washington.

While the ruling applies to a set of levies ​due to expire in about two months, it marks another setback for Trump’s global ​tariff ambitions and comes a week before he is due to discuss trade tensions with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

It also sets the stage for another protracted legal battle over billions of ​dollars’ worth of tariff refunds, three months after the US Supreme Court struck down ​Trump’s sweeping global tariffs imposed under a national emergencies law.

Trump blamed the trade court decision on “two ‌radical left judges” when speaking to reporters on Thursday. US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Friday the Trump administration expects to prevail in the appeal, although he also expressed confidence in earlier tariffs that were ultimately invalidated by the US Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court ruled ​in February that Trump ​had no authority to impose the earlier tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, leading Trump to impose replacement tariffs of 10 percent on ​all imports using Section 122 of the Trade Act.