Trade compliance professionals are busy at work providing internal guidance to their organizations in response to the IEEPA SCOTUS ruling decision with impacts on financial landed costs, discussions on possible refunds process and scheduling and replacement tariffs touted as a reaction to the ruling.

The Alston Group understands the trade challenges and are built for the necessary resolve needed to remain informed, diligent and ready to respond to direct and indirectly related subject matters involving this industry event circumstance and present this fact sheet as an update as of the date of its posting with updates to follow as this fluid situation continues to evolve.

The Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump exceeded his authority when imposing sweeping tariffs using a law reserved for a national emergency and has struck down the use of IEEPA tariffs.

• The decision does not affect all of Trump’s tariffs but invalidates those implemented using a 1977 law called the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

• The ruling blocks Trump's sweeping reciprocal tariffs and those the president imposed on Canada, China and Mexico in what he said was an effort to stop the flow of illegal drugs.

The lower court (Court of International Trade) has 10 days to issue orders that US Customs and Border Protection will then execute.

Undoubtedly, this is an industry issue with 160 billion dollars involved and waiting for CIT ruling and related CSMS message from CBP is not a preference of senior management, CEO, CFO and leadership team decisions. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as they are qualified, vetted and affirmed by our internal trade compliance team of experts.

The CSMS message issued to confirm the elimination of IEPPA tariffs effective February 24, 2026, at 1201am, has been issued.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision striking down the IEEPAbased tariffs, President Trump announced that he will impose a new global 10% tariff under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 and then escalated it to 15% tariff to take effect on February 24, 2026, at 12:01am. 

The CSMS message issued late evening on February 23^rd was issued with a new global tariff of the original 10% listed in effect for February 24, 2026, at 12:01 am. We will continue to monitor the implementation of any forward adjustments of the global tariff after February 24, 2026.

Section 122 authorizes the President to implement temporary, acrosstheboard tariffs without congressional approval, but the statute strictly limits such measures to a maximum of 150 days, with no mechanism to extend or restart the clock once that period expires.

There is an anticipation that once the Section 122 authority runs out, the Administration will seek to transition to other statutory tools available and under their authority at present, most notably Section 232 (national security) or Section 301 (unfair trade practices)—to maintain or expand tariff coverage. Given these shifting authorities and timelines, importers, brokers, and states should consult counsel to assess potential refund avenues, evaluate possible challenges, and plan for future tariff exposure.

We remain available at the core of the expertise of The Alston Group senior board to participate in discussions with our existing clients as well as partner public inquiries which are being received in high volume from all global regions. You may contact me directly at renniealston@comcast.net

Best regards,

Rennie Alston, President

Association of Trade Compliance Professionals