Tariff Resource Center

Summary of SCOTUS ruling

On February 20, 2026, in a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court decisively struck down the president’s authority to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). This includes all of the administration’s “reciprocal” tariffs rolled out last April in which a 10% baseline tariff was imposed on all WTO members, additional higher tariffs were imposed at varying levels by country, and certain tariffs were directed at China, Mexico, Canada and others related to fentanyl. These tariffs are now unlawful.

In response, the president has imposed a 10% across the board tariff under a different authority, but that will have to be extended by Congress after 150 days or else it expires.

What was not included in the ruling

It is important to note that the president retains a number of other authorities through which to impose tariffs, though they require much more cumbersome processes. It is also worth noting that this case does NOT involve any tariffs issued under other authorities, such as the product-based Section 232 tariffs (steel, aluminum, lumber, etc.) or national security-based Section 301 tariffs (Applied on goods from China 2018-19 and investigation opened regarding Brazil).

The ruling did not opine on what constitutes an “emergency” under the law. That would likely have been a trickier question to answer, and would have come only if the court had determined the president had the tariff authority under IEEPA.

Additionally, the decision was silent on refunds and there was no court order saying expressly that plaintiffs are entitled to refunds, there will very likely be a class action suit in the court of federal claims to get this resolved.