Supreme Court Invalidates Emergency Tariffs: What It Means and What’s Next

IEEPA tariffs declared invalid. As you’ve probably heard, the Supreme Court definitively invalidated all International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs in a 6–3 opinion today in Learning Resources v. Trump. Cutting through the legalese, the majority held IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs, full stop. 

What’s next? The Court resolved a separate question about which lower court has authority to deal with these issues, assigning that task to the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals and the Court of International Trade (CIT). It appears likely the action on refunds will be in the CIT. 

What should you do now? If you paid IEEPA tariffs directly and haven’t done so, we strongly urge you to file a protective refund claim in the CIT. The Government may oppose refunds even of unlawfully imposed tariffs if retailers did not file claims within the 314-day window after liquidation. We expect the CIT to be inundated with claims in the coming weeks. We have an efficient and affordable process for getting these claims on file. 

If you paid IEEPA tariffs indirectly – because the importer of record is a third party – we strongly recommend you consult with counsel as soon as possible to review your options.

If you would like to discuss this matter further or to take immediate action, please contact one of our tariff litigation lawyers.

Peter Brann | pbrann@brannlaw.com
David Swetnam-Burland | dsb@brannlaw.com
David Joyce | djoyce@brannlaw.com