In a sweeping decision, the US Supreme Court has ruled that the President's constitutional powers do not support many of the tariffs enacted by the Trump administration. 

The question presented to the court was whether the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) authorizes the President to impose tariffs.

The opinion is clear in the following paragraph:

 

Held: IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs.  The judgment in No. 24–1287 is vacated, and the case is remanded with instructions to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction; the judgment in No. 25250 is affirmed. 

 

This decision will have an enormous impact on international trade. 

• It impacts Canada (and Mexico) - US Tariffs imposed because of the fentanyl “crisis”. 
• It impacts tariffs imposed on China under the same fentanyl crisis.
• It also impacts other “reciprocal” trade deals negotiated by the administration. 

Importers into the US will have opportunities to claim refunds.  Media reports suggest that up to $150 billion in duties are at issue.

Details re. the procedures are not yet available.  But there is concern that the tariff refund process is likely to be complex and challenging.

The decision is also likely to encourage aggressive action on the part of the US administration to reinforce or extend other tariff measures/mechanisms not impacted by the decision.

In order to guide CAF members on this issue, we have arranged for a US attorney to provide a webinar early next week dealing with all of these issues. 

Details will be available Monday, Feb. 23rd.

Any CAF member with questions about the ruling can contact Bob Kirke, CAF Executive Director at:  bkirke@apparel.ca.

Background:

Opinion:

LEARNING RESOURCES, INC., ET AL. v. TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, ET AL. 

 

Articles:

What the SCOTUS ruling on IEEPA means for US tariffs

U.S. Supreme Court finds Trump overstepped authority in imposing tariffs under emergency law