The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled in a 6–3 decision that the President does not have authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to unilaterally impose tariffs. In a majority opinion authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the Court held that although the President asserts the extraordinary power to impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration, and scope in response to unusual or extraordinary threats, IEEPA does not authorize the imposition of tariffs.
The Court emphasized that if Congress intended to grant tariff authority under IEEPA, it would have done so expressly, as it has in other tariff statutes. The opinion noted that the asserted authority to impose tariffs of unlimited amount, duration, and scope requires clear congressional authorization, which IEEPA does not provide. The decision affirms the prior ruling of the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and remands the matter to the United States Court of International Trade to determine whether a nationwide injunction against tariffs imposed under IEEPA is appropriate.
The ruling does not affect all tariffs imposed during the Trump administration. Tariffs implemented under other statutory authorities, including those imposed pursuant to Section 232, remain in place. However, this decision directly impacts the country-specific IEEPA reciprocal tariffs and the IEEPA Fentanyl tariffs.
This development represents a significant limitation on executive authority under IEEPA and may have material implications for importers affected by the invalidated tariff measures. At this time, this remains breaking news, and there has been no official statement or implementation guidance issued by the White House, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or other relevant agencies regarding effective dates, enforcement posture, refund eligibility, or the timing of any changes.
At this time, entries will continue to be processed with IEEPA tariffs until programming changes and system updates are implemented by U.S. CBP. We will continue to monitor developments closely and provide updates as additional information becomes available.