On February 20, 2026, in a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court issued a decision holding that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”) does not authorize the President to impose tariffs. President Trump had imposed sweeping “drug trafficking” and “reciprocal” tariffs after declaring national emergencies relating to narcotics inflows and persistent trade deficits. These measures included duties on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China, as well as baseline tariffs of at least 10 percent on imports from virtually all trading partners, with higher rates for certain countries.
The Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Federal Circuit”) invalidating the tariffs and confirmed that the U.S. Court of International Trade (“CIT”) has exclusive jurisdiction over such tariff challenges. The Court concluded that IEEPA’s text empowers the President to “regulate … importation or exportation,” but this general regulatory language does not include the power to impose duties or tariffs.
This decision significantly narrows the President’s ability to use emergency economic powers. IEEPA can no longer serve as a vehicle for executive tariff action to address trade deficits, import surges, or other declared emergencies. The decision does not affect the Administration’s ability to use other authorities to impose duties on imports, including the antidumping and countervailing duty laws, Section 201 safeguard actions, Section 301 to address unfair trade practices, Section 232 to protect national security, and other tools. Indeed, hours after the Court’s decision was released, the President announced he was imposing 10 percent tariffs across-the-board globally to address trade imbalances and exploring additional Section 301 tariffs on countries with unfair trade practices.
The Court’s affirmation of the Federal Circuit’s holding resolves the core statutory question, but the matter will now be remanded to the CIT to reevaluate the propriety of granting injunctive relief and the proper scope of the injunctive relief, pursuant to the remand instructions provided by the Federal Circuit. The Federal Circuit vacated that injunction until the CIT could resolve these issues. Although the tariffs have been held unlawful, the Court’s decision does not state whether relief will operate universally or only as to the parties that have challenged the tariffs before Customs and/or in court. Another consequential issue concerns refunds and the treatment of entries made under the now-invalidated tariffs. The CIT will need to determine whether the tariffs are void ab initio, whether refunds apply automatically to all affected importers, or whether relief is limited to parties that filed timely protests or commenced litigation. Despite today’s decision, the IEEPA tariffs currently remain in place until the CIT resolves issues related to the injunction that was vacated by the Federal Circuit. In the meantime, hundreds of additional cases have already been filed at the CIT seeking refunds of IEEPA tariffs, and those cases are also currently stayed.
The bottom line for the cabinets industry is that the 25-percent Section 232 tariffs are not impacted at all by the Supreme Court's decision and will stay in place. While imports of all other goods from across the world will not only be subject to the 10-percent tariff that President Trump announced today, imports of cabinets, vanities, and parts thereof will still be subject to 25-percent tariffs.
