Supreme Court Rules IEEPA Tariffs Are Unlawful | Customs & International Trade Law Blog

In the present day, the Supreme Courtroom of the USA (SCOTUS) issued its opinion in Studying Assets, Inc., et al. v. Trump. The Courtroom dominated that IEEPA doesn’t authorize the president to impose tariffs. 

The Courtroom rejected the Trump Administration’s assertion that the statutory textual content of IEEPA delegates Congressional tariff powers to the President, discovering that Congress wouldn’t have delegated “extremely consequential energy” by means of ambiguous language.

The bulk wrote, “Based mostly on two phrases separated by 16 others in … IEEPA, ‘regulate’ and ‘importation’–the President asserts the impartial energy to impose tariffs on imports from any nation, of any product, at any fee, for any period of time. These phrases can’t bear such weight.”

The choice was 6-3, with Justice Thomas, Alito, and Kavanaugh dissenting.

What This Means for Importers

The Trump Administration has made clear that, whatever the Supreme Courtroom’s determination, tariffs will stay a cornerstone of their commerce and “America First” coverage. 

On January 9, 2026, Nationwide Financial Council Director Kevin Hassett mentioned of the Supreme Courtroom case: “Our expectation is that we’re going to win, and if we don’t win, then we all know that we’ve acquired different instruments that we will use that get us to the identical place.” He additionally mentioned in a Fox Enterprise Interview that the Administration has a backup plan able to go that might permit tariffs to be put “again into place virtually instantly, ought to the Supreme Courtroom rule towards us.”

IEEPA is simply one of many legislative avenues the Administration has to impose tariffs. Beneath is a abstract of tariff instruments out there to the Administration.

The Administration will virtually definitely pivot to a different authorized authority to keep up the present tariffs. 

As a result of the Supreme Courtroom has upheld the Federal Circuit’s determination, the case is remanded to the Courtroom of Worldwide Commerce to find out whether or not it may possibly challenge a nationwide injunction, which we hope the Courtroom of Worldwide Commerce will resolve rapidly.  

Importers who’ve filed swimsuit on the Courtroom of Worldwide Commerce ought to be eligible to get their very own injunction. Additional, a person injunction is probably not required, given the Supreme Courtroom determination. The important thing at this second is how the Courtroom of Worldwide Commerce will implement the Supreme Courtroom’s determination.  

We’re assured that importers who’ve filed swimsuit within the Courtroom of Worldwide Commerce ought to be eligible to obtain refunds for the IEEPA Tariffs they paid. Nevertheless, the Courtroom of Worldwide Commerce might want to present particular directions for issuing refunds. We’re actively monitoring and can advise as quickly as we’ve extra data from the Courtroom of Worldwide Commerce.  

What Importers Ought to Do

Importers ought to view the present tariff surroundings as a long-term actuality and proactively put money into methods that legally reduce their responsibility publicity. There are a number of methods to LEGALLY reduce tariffs, together with:

Responsibility disadvantage
Tariff engineering
Nation of origin change
First sale
Responsibility deferral
Negotiate DDP Incoterms

Importers also needs to put money into compliance. The U.S. authorities has signaled that enforcement of commerce legislation is a high precedence and has levied hefty fines and even initiated prison circumstances towards importers evading duties.

Importers ought to:

Conduct inside audits
Refresh classification procedures
Make sure the accuracy of valuation practices
Revisit provider agreements
Tighten dealer oversight
Leverage know-how
Develop coaching for workers
Strengthen recordkeeping practices
Put together for audits

Our workplace will proceed to intently monitor and can hold you knowledgeable. Please evaluation the next assets to remain knowledgeable on tariff updates and jumpstart your 2026 compliance program.

Diaz Commerce Regulation can help in auditing and/or creating importer compliance packages, organising importer ACE accounts, and executing methods to reduce duties. In case you have questions concerning the IEEPA case or questions concerning every other import or export-related matter, please don’t hesitate to contact our workplace at information@diaztradelaw.com.