The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency said it will stop collecting tariffs that were imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) beginning at 12:01 a.m. EST (0501 GMT) on Tuesday, (24). The move comes more than three days after the US Supreme Court ruled that the duties were illegal.
In a message sent to shippers through its Cargo Systems Messaging Service (CSMS), CBP said it will deactivate all tariff codes linked to President Donald Trump’s earlier IEEPA-related orders as of Tuesday (24). This action formally ends the collection of those specific tariffs at U.S. ports of entry.
The halt in IEEPA tariff collections comes at the same time President Trump is putting in place a new 15 per cent global tariff under a different legal authority. That new tariff is intended to replace the IEEPA-based duties that the Supreme Court struck down on Friday (20).
CBP did not explain why it continued collecting the tariffs for several days after the Supreme Court issued its ruling. The agency also did not provide any details about whether importers who already paid the now-invalid tariffs will receive refunds.
The agency’s message made clear that the halt applies only to tariffs imposed under IEEPA. It does not affect other tariffs put in place by Mr. Trump. These include duties under the Section 232 national security statute and the Section 301 unfair trade practices statute, which remain in effect.
“CBP will provide additional guidance to the trade community through CSMS messages as appropriate,” the agency said.
The financial impact of the Supreme Court’s decision could be significant. Reuters reported on Friday (20) that more than $175 billion in revenue collected under the IEEPA tariffs could potentially be subject to refunds. That estimate comes from economists at the Penn-Wharton Budget Model.
According to their ground-up forecasting model, the IEEPA-based tariffs were generating more than $500 million per day in gross revenue for the US Treasury. With the Supreme Court’s ruling now in effect and collections set to stop, attention is likely to shift to how the government will handle possible repayment claims from importers.
