US Supreme Court strikes down IEEPA tariffs

The "reciprocal" and fentanyl-related US tariffs imposed under IEEPA are invalid. A temporary 10% global surcharge under Section 122 replaced them from 24 February.

In a 6–3 ruling on 20 February 2026, the US Supreme Court held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not let the President impose tariffs. That removes the legal basis for the country-by-country "reciprocal" tariffs announced in April 2025 and the separate tariffs on China, Canada and Mexico linked to fentanyl and migration.

What changed for importers

• All IEEPA tariffs stopped being collected at 00:00 Eastern time on 24 February 2026.
• From the same moment, a temporary 10% surcharge on most imports applied under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. Section 122 is capped at 150 days.
• Duties under Section 232 (steel, aluminum, autos and others) and the existing Section 301 China lists were not affected by the ruling.
• Importers who paid IEEPA duties may be able to claim refunds; CBP has since opened a refund process.

What it means for your landed cost

The ruling did not restore the $800 de minimis exemption. That suspension rests on a different legal basis and stays in force, so low-value parcels still pay duty.

Update: the Section 122 surcharge expired on 24 July 2026 and was replaced by Section 301 forced-labor duties of 10% or 12.5%. See our separate update.