The Supreme Court Strikes Down IEEPA Tariffs

  • FLASH NEWS
  • IEEPA Tariffs Struck Down

Supreme Court Decision

Washington, DC, 20 FEB, 2026 The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled today that the fentanyl tariffs that President Trump imposed last February and the reciprocal tariffs that he imposed last April are illegal. We will issue a more detailed update as infroamtion becomes avaialble, including next steps for importers to take, but the key next step will be to watch what position the US Department of Justice and US Customs & Border Protection will take regarding next steps. Naturally, there also will be questions around how soon can importers stop paying the tariffs (e.g., can an importer stop paying on entries filed today), how will DOJ and CBP manage (and whether they will issue) refunds on entries that have already been filed and, in some instances, liquidated, as well as how soon will President Trump post something on this Truth Social account about new tariffs and how soon they might start. There also will be questions around the effect of today's decision on the existing "deals" that the Administration struck with other countries. Put more simply, there are still a lot of unanswered questions that need to be worked through.

Future Considerations

While the IEEPA tariffs have been struck down, the administration is expected to utilize other statutory authorities to impose tariffs, which could lead to new trade policies and of course, new tariffs. President Trump has stated that If the Supreme Court strikes down the tariffs, that the administration will impose tariffs using other available duty programs.

What tariffs are and are not affected?

IEEPA tariffs include:

Removed:

  • Fentanyl / Immigration
  • Reciprocal

Unknown - it is not yet known if these tariffs are affected by the Supreme Court Ruling. TBD:

  • IEEPA Brazil
  • IEEPA Japan
  • IEEPA Switzerland-Liechtenstein
  • IEEPA KOREA
  • IEEPA India /Russian oil (expired February 7th)

Tariffs Not Affected by Today's Ruling:

Section 301 Duties

Section 232 Duties. Includes:

  • Steel
  • Aluminum
  • Copper
  • timber/lumber and wooden furniture / cabinets
  • Vehicle tariffs - Passenger and Lightweight vehicles / medium to heavy duty trucks
  • Semiconductor

What Happens Now?

As you know, brokers' actions are guided by the instructions given to us by CBP. CBP has not yet issued a notice regarding the removal of the tariffs, but we expect the HS codes assigned to the IEEPA tariffs to be removed soon. As of right now, that has not happened. This process may take a little time because there are many tariff codes to remove. Programming takes time.

The Supreme Court did not address the refund issue. CBP will issue a notice regarding refunds. But questions remain: Who will get them? Will refunds be issued at all? What will be the process for obtaining a refund? Much speculation surrounds what will happen. Currently, CBP only offers refunds through formal processes: Post Summary Corrections and Protests. Since this is an unprecedented event for all parties, including CBP, we hope for an alternate method. But we're not holding our breath.

As soon as we have any information, we will update you immediately.


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