Hunton Retail Law Resource

What Happened

On February 20, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act ("IEEPA") does not authorize the President to impose tariffs. In Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, the Court invalidated tariffs imposed under IEEPA in connection with the Administration’s drug‑trafficking and "reciprocal" trade actions. The Supreme Court concluded that IEEPA’s grant of authority to "regulate … importation" does not include the power to impose tariffs. Tariffs are taxes, and the Constitution assigns taxing authority to Congress. When Congress intends to delegate tariff authority, it does so explicitly and with defined limits—features absent from IEEPA.

As a result of the ruling, Customs and Border Protection must cease collection of duties imposed solely under IEEPA, and future entries should not be subject to those measures. The Court reaffirmed that the Court of International Trade (CIT) has exclusive jurisdiction over tariff challenges.

Going forward, the decision makes clear that IEEPA cannot be used as a stand‑alone tariff statute. Any future tariffs must rest on explicit congressional authorization, typically accompanied by procedural safeguards and substantive limits.

Bottom Line

• IEEPA‑based tariffs are invalid and may no longer be collected.
• The decision does not automatically trigger refunds, and the Supreme Court did not establish a refund mechanism or timeline.
• Importers seeking recovery should expect to pursue administrative claims and/or litigation, likely before the U.S. Court of International Trade, unless the government issues guidance directing other recovery mechanisms.
• Other tariff authorities remain intact, including Sections 232, 201, and 301 of the Trade Expansion Act. That means product-specific tariffs like those on steel, aluminum, copper, and semi-conductors remain in place. More information on those tariffs is available on the Hunton Tariff Tracker.
• Companies should assess exposure to IEEPA tariffs now and prepare for a potentially complex refund process.

Next Steps

The next steps with respect to claiming any IEEPA tariff refunds are unclear. The Court did not order refunds or define a process for recovering duties already paid. The Court acknowledged the practical complexity of unwinding the tariffs but left those issues unresolved. Importers should anticipate that refunds, if available, will likely require affirmative administrative action (such as Post-Summary Corrections or protests) and potentially litigation before the CIT. In practical terms, first steps for importers include identifying which imports were subject to the IEEPA tariffs, determining which entries have already liquidated and which are scheduled to liquidate in the near term, and preserving relevant records.

The next steps will likely depend on future guidance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection and developments in the Court of International Trade. We recommend closely monitoring agency and court developments and reaching out to our International Trade Controls team to discuss potential strategies and timing considerations as the refund landscape develops.