Reuters: US Customs to halt tariffs following Supreme Court ruling

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency announced it will stop collecting tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) at 12:01 a.m. EST (0501 GMT) on February 24, more than three days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the duties illegal.

In a message to shippers on its Cargo Systems Messaging Service (CSMS), CBP said it will “de-activate all tariff codes associated with President Donald Trump's prior IEEPA-related orders as of February 24," Reuters reports. 

The halt in IEEPA tariff collections comes as Trump introduced a new 15% global tariff under a separate legal authority, replacing the duties struck down by the Supreme Court on February 20. CBP did not provide an explanation for why it continued collecting the tariffs at U.S. ports of entry in the days following the court ruling, and offered no details regarding potential refunds for importers.

The agency stressed that the suspension “does not affect any other tariffs imposed by Trump, including those under the Section 232 national security statute and the Section 301 unfair trade practices statute.” It added, “CBP will provide additional guidance to the trade community through CSMS messages as appropriate.”

According to a February 20 report by Reuters, the Supreme Court decision put more than $175 billion in U.S. Treasury revenue from the IEEPA tariffs at risk of refund.

Penn-Wharton Budget Model economists estimated that these tariffs had been generating over $500 million per day in gross revenue, based on a ground-up forecasting model.

By Sabina Mammadli