White House Acts Following Supreme Court Ruling on IEEPA Tariffs

Summary of Recent Executive Actions

Last night, the White House announced a series of trade actions in response to a recent decision by the Supreme Court of the United States overturning tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). These actions unwind certain tariff authorities while simultaneously imposing a temporary global tariff under separate statutory authority.

Below is a summary of the key developments announced.

1. Termination of IEEPA Tariffs

The President signed an Executive Order ending the additional ad valorem duties that had been imposed pursuant to IEEPA.

Key elements include:

The order directs that IEEPA-based tariffs will no longer be collected “as soon as practicable,” though no specific implementation timeline has been provided.
Other actions taken pursuant to IEEPA that do not impose tariffs are not affected by the order.
The national emergency declarations issued in conjunction with the IEEPA tariffs remain in effect.
The Executive Order does not address the availability of refunds for tariffs previously paid under IEEPA.

2. Imposition of a Temporary 10% Global Tariff Under Section 122

In a separate Executive Order, the President imposed a temporary 10% global tariff pursuant to Section 122 of U.S. trade law. The White House also released a fact sheet outlining the scope of the measure.

Effective period

The tariff takes effect at 12:01 a.m. EST on February 24 and will remain in effect for 150 days, through July 24.

“On the water” exemption

A limited exemption applies to goods loaded onto a vessel in the final mode of transit prior to 12:01 a.m. EST on February 24.
To qualify, those goods must also be entered into the United States prior to February 28.
Further clarification is being sought regarding the narrow scope of this exemption window.

Exclusions
The 10% tariff does not apply to:

Originating goods under the USMCA
Products subject to Section 232 duties (now or in the future), although the tariff will apply to any non-steel or non-aluminum content of derivative goods
Civil aircraft and aircraft parts
Certain critical minerals
Pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients
Energy and energy products
Natural resources not grown, mined, or produced in the United States
Certain textile and apparel products originating under CAFTA-DR

Tariff stacking

The Executive Order clarifies that the 10% tariff will not apply to goods subject to Section 232 duties.
The tariff will, however, stack on top of other applicable duties, including MFN rates, Section 301 tariffs, and AD/CVD measures.

3. Continued Suspension of De Minimis Treatment

A separate Executive Order confirmed the continued suspension of duty-free de minimis treatment for low-value shipments.

Covered shipments will be subject to the temporary import duty imposed under Section 122.
This action continues the application of duties to qualifying low-value imports.