Importers and a coalition of states challenged President Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose sweeping global and country-specific tariffs, arguing IEEPA does not authorize tariff powers. The Supreme Court agreed 6-3 on February 20, 2026, affirming the Federal Circuit’s en banc ruling that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs and vacating the D.D.C. judgment in Learning Resources on jurisdictional grounds, leaving refunds to be worked out in the Court of International Trade.
LATEST DEVELOPMENT · SEP 9, 2026
After the Supreme Court’s February 20, 2026 ruling, the Court of International Trade ordered CBP to implement a nationwide IEEPA tariff refund system. CBP reported to the court on July 1, 2026 that it had authorized about $104.29B in refunds and paid out roughly $71.06B. By July 10 payments exceeded $86B. On August 6, 2026, the CIT heard argument on the Liberty Justice Center’s motion to certify a nationwide class in V.O.S. Selections so that importers with finally liquidated entries can obtain refunds without suing individually. In June 2026, the government appealed the CIT’s refund orders to the Federal Circuit, challenging its authority to order refunds for non-litigant importers.
BACKGROUND
This dispute arose after President Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 to impose sweeping tariffs, first on Canada, Mexico and China in February 2025 and then, through the “Liberation Day” orders, on nearly all US trading partners. Two sets of plaintiffs sued almost immediately. Small businesses Learning Resources and hand2mind sued in the District Court for the District of Columbia, while V.O.S. Selections and a group of other importers sued in the Court of International Trade, later joined by a coalition of states led by Oregon. Both sets of plaintiffs argued that IEEPA, a sanctions and asset-freezing statute, contains no grant of tariff power and that reading one into it would raise nondelegation and major questions problems.
The Court of International Trade agreed and permanently enjoined the tariffs in May 2025. The government appealed, and the Federal Circuit, sitting en banc, affirmed in relevant part in August 2025, holding that IEEPA’s grant of authority to “regulate” imports does not authorize tariffs of unlimited scope and duration, though the judges split on rationale. The Supreme Court granted certiorari, consolidated the Learning Resources and V.O.S. Selections cases, heard argument on an expedited basis on November 5, 2025, and ruled 6-3 on February 20, 2026 that IEEPA does not authorize the tariffs, with the justices divided over whether the case turned on ordinary statutory interpretation or the major questions doctrine.
Since the ruling, the fight has shifted to remedy. The Court of International Trade ordered Customs and Border Protection to build a refund mechanism, and by mid-2026 CBP had authorized more than one hundred billion dollars in refunds and paid out tens of billions more. The government has appealed the scope of the CIT’s refund orders to the Federal Circuit, arguing the trial court lacks authority to order refunds for importers who never sued, while the Liberty Justice Center has pushed for nationwide class certification so that importers with finally liquidated entries can recover without filing individual suits.
The case now proceeds on two tracks, an appellate track testing the limits of the CIT’s remedial authority and a trial-level track working through class certification and the mechanics of paying back tariffs collected under a program the Supreme Court has held unlawful.
TIMELINE
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SEP 9, 2026OTHERMembers of Congress urge CBP to address refund administrative delaysMembers of Congress sent CBP a letter urging the agency to address administrative delays affecting disbursement of IEEPA duty refunds, following the pause of CAPE Phase III processing.
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AUG 25, 2026PROCEDURALCBP pauses CAPE Phase III refund rollout amid system validation issuesCBP issued a status declaration reporting over $106B in IEEPA refunds certified for Treasury disbursement, while confirming that CAPE Phase III, which covers finally liquidated entries, is temporarily paused so engineers can refine system validation checks. Phase III disbursements so far are limited to importers who filed suit at the CIT.
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AUG 6, 2026HEARINGCIT hearing on nationwide class certification for IEEPA refundsThe Court of International Trade scheduled oral argument for August 6, 2026 on the Liberty Justice Center’s motion to certify a Rule 23(b)(2) nationwide class in V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. United States, aimed at securing refund access for importers with finally liquidated entries. CBP had by then refunded over $86B in IEEPA tariffs.
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JUL 15, 2026JUDGMENTCIT orders finally-liquidated entry refunds for suing plaintiffCIT Judge Richard K. Eaton issued an order directing CBP to refund IEEPA duties on all of a plaintiff’s finally liquidated entries, giving importers who filed individual CIT suits a confirmed path to refunds on those entries while importers who did not sue still lack a comparable mechanism.
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JUL 1, 2026ENFORCEMENTCBP reports $104.29B in refunds authorized, $71.06B paidIn a status update to the CIT, CBP reported it had authorized approximately $104.29B in IEEPA tariff refunds and paid out about $71.06B, including interest, more than four months after the Supreme Court’s ruling.
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JUN 2, 2026APPEALGovernment appeals CIT refund order to Federal CircuitThe Department of Justice filed notices of appeal in the Federal Circuit in V.O.S. Selections and related cases (Euro-Notions, AGS Company, Grant & Bowman), and moved to consolidate the appeals, challenging the CIT’s authority to order universal refunds for non-litigant importers.
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APR 20, 2026ENFORCEMENTCBP launches first phase of IEEPA refund processingCBP activated the first phase of IEEPA tariff refunds, limited initially to certain unliquidated entries, roughly two months after the Supreme Court’s decision.
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MAR 2, 2026PROCEDURALFederal Circuit denies government’s stay request, returns case to CITThe Federal Circuit rejected the government’s request to pause the litigation and denied a motion for a stay, formally returning the case to the Court of International Trade so refund proceedings could begin.
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MAR 2026JUDGMENTCIT orders nationwide IEEPA tariff refundsThe Court of International Trade, with Judge Eaton presiding over IEEPA refund cases, ordered CBP to implement a system for refunding IEEPA tariffs on a broad, non-litigant-inclusive basis, and denied the government’s request for a stay pending appeal.
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FEB 20, 2026JUDGMENTSupreme Court rules IEEPA does not authorize the tariffsThe Supreme Court affirmed, 6-3, in an opinion by Chief Justice Roberts, that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act did not authorize the tariffs imposed by the president, invalidating the fentanyl-related and Liberation Day tariffs.
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NOV 5, 2025HEARINGSupreme Court hears oral argumentThe Supreme Court heard consolidated, expedited oral argument in Learning Resources v. Trump and Trump v. V.O.S. Selections, with Solicitor General D. John Sauer arguing for the government, Neal Katyal for the private plaintiffs, and Benjamin Gutman for the state coalition.
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AUG 29, 2025JUDGMENTFederal Circuit, en banc, affirms that IEEPA does not authorize the tariffsSitting en banc, the Federal Circuit affirmed in relevant part, holding IEEPA’s grant of authority to regulate imports does not authorize the tariffs, with separate opinions from Judges Cunningham and Taranto over the reasoning.
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JUN 3, 2025PROCEDURALD.D.C. stays its own ruling pending appealThe district court stayed its decision finding IEEPA does not authorize the tariffs, pending the government’s appeal.
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MAY 29, 2025JUDGMENTD.D.C. preliminarily enjoins tariffs for Learning Resources and hand2mindJudge Rudolph Contreras of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia declared the IEEPA tariffs unlawful as to the two toy-company plaintiffs and preliminarily enjoined their enforcement against them.
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MAY 28, 2025JUDGMENTCIT rules IEEPA does not authorize the tariffs, permanently enjoins themThe Court of International Trade ruled unanimously that the challenged tariffs exceeded the President’s statutory authority under IEEPA and permanently enjoined their enforcement.
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MAY 13, 2025HEARINGCIT panel hears argument in V.O.S. SelectionsA three-judge Court of International Trade panel of Judges Gary S. Katzmann, Timothy M. Reif and Jane A. Restani heard argument on the importers’ challenge to the IEEPA tariffs.