Member DashboardSupreme Court strikes down IEEPA tariffs: Administration enacts 10% surcharge
A 10% temporary surcharge on global imports is in effect until July 24, following the U.S. Supreme Court 6-3 decision that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not authorize reciprocal tariffs. The White House announcement includes exceptions “because of the needs of the U.S. economy” in Annexes I and II. Subsequent presidential proclamations called for determining whether modifications are needed to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule and for the continued suspension of duty-free de minimis for all countries.
Also, the Court of International Trade ordered U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) to stop collecting and begin refunding IEEPA tariffs immediately. In a subsequent court filing, CBP reported that it needs until the end of April to comply with the order, as it addresses $166 billon collected, involves more than 330,000 importers and 53 million entries. Members should discuss details with their customs brokers.
As this information was finalized, the president has not signed a directive to increase the tariffs from 10% to 15%. Reportedly, the White House is looking into how to raise the rate while still honoring existing trade agreements. The administration also is considering legal strategies to retain the revenue collected from invalidated IEEPA tariffs, while Democratic lawmakers in both chambers introduced tariff refund bills.
NAFEM regularly updates the Taxes, Tariffs and Trade webpage with the latest.
Learn more about recent tariff activities in March 19 webinar
The Small Business Legislative Council will host a webinar March 19 at 1 p.m. Eastern to provide a high-level update on the rapidly shifting trade landscape. The session will explain the current state of the IEEPA refund process and potential next steps in ongoing litigation and administrative actions. Registration is required.
U.S. evaluating new approaches to tariffs on Chinese imports
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) is investigating revoking permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) treatment for all Chinese imports. The review will assess how higher tariffs would affect U.S. trade flows, domestic production and prices in the most directly impacted industries. The ITC also is evaluating an alternative approach that would revoke PNTR only for a defined set of national security-related products from China, with tariffs phased in over five years. Comments are due April 13. Members interested in participating in comments should contact advocacy@nafem.org by March 19.