#JamesGang

The U.S. Supreme Court announced Feb. 20th 2026, that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not authorize the President to impose tariffs. This Act has been used extensively over the past year by President Trump to impose tariffs on goods being imported into the United States. These tariffs encompass, among others, those related to Fentanyl & Border Security on imports from China, Canada, and Mexico, as well as reciprocal tariffs on all countries and punitive tariffs on specific nations. While the Supreme Court ruling is still being processed, please understand the following:

For cargo that has already arrived, or will arrive prior to further systematic updates and technical instructions by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), brokers must continue to enter goods into the United States with the IEEPA tariffs. It is not possible within the current CBP system to omit the tariffs and have CBP accept the entry summary without change. However, if CBP programming and technical implementation for IEEPA tariff removal is complete prior to the payment of the entry summary (no later than ten days prior to the date of entry of the cargo), the entry summary can be updated to remove the IEEPA tariffs before payment is due to CBP.

Even without IEEPA authority, the President has sufficient statutory authority to swiftly re-establish many of the existing trade policy tariffs through other provisions. The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has indicated that it is prepared with a new set of tariffs should IEEPA be struck down. Although the current IEEPA tariffs were deemed illegal, they may soon be replaced by alternative measures.

This ruling did not invalidate the Section 232 (Steel, Aluminum, Copper, Automotive, Medium- & Heavy-Duty Vehicles, Lumber, etc.) or Section 301 (China) tariffs, so those will remain in effect.

The U.S. Supreme Court also determined that the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) is the appropriate venue for resolving disputes related to IEEPA. Consequently, the CIT will now manage any potential tariff refund processes, which would be administered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for importers seeking refunds.

In order to avoid delays in receipt of refund payments, if they become available, we strongly recommend that all importers ensure their ACE Portal account is active and that the ACH Refund Authorization form is completed by the Trade Account Owner, as CBP is only issuing refunds electronically as of February 6, 2026.

We will keep you updated as information becomes available.