Update on IEEPA Tariffs and Implementation of Section 122 Tariffs
 

To quote a colleague of mine, “It was a busy weekend at the White House.” Let’s start at the beginning. If you missed it, the Supreme Court on Friday, February 20th, 2026 ruled that IEEPA Tariffs as implemented were unlawful because the President does not have the power to impose tariffs on his own under the IEEPA provision. This power rests with Congress. US Customs issued a CSMS Message #67834313 Sunday night at 10:00 p.m. advising that the new programming to eliminate IEEPA tariffs will go into effect at 12:01 a.m. February 24th, which means we, as a customs broker, can’t remove IEEPA tariffs until tomorrow.

Next, this past Friday afternoon, the President enacted the Section 122 provision, which “…empowers the President to address certain fundamental international payment problems through surcharges and other import restrictions.” (The White House Fact Sheet issued 2/20/26). It was declared that a 10% duty would be applied to all imports effective February 24th, 2026 at 12:01 a.m. It was also declared that certain products would not be charged this duty, such as:

• Certain critical minerals, metals used in currency and bullion, energy, and energy products;
• Natural resources and fertilizers that cannot be grown, mined, or otherwise produced in sufficient quantities to meet domestic demand;
• Certain agricultural products, including beef, tomatoes, and oranges;
• Pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical ingredients;
• Certain electronics;
• Passenger vehicles, certain light trucks, certain medium and heavy-duty vehicles, buses, and certain parts of passenger vehicles, heavy-duty vehicles, and buses;
• Certain aerospace products;
• Informational materials (e.g., books), donations, and accompanied baggage.
• All articles and parts of articles that are currently or later become subject to section 232 actions;
• USMCA-compliant goods of Canada and Mexico; and
• Textiles and apparel articles that enter duty-free as a good of Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, or Nicaragua under the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement.

The President extended the suspension of the duty-free de minimis exemption, and those arriving via international postal service shall continue to be covered by the duty process previously implemented last year.

On Saturday, February 21st, 2026, the President then raised the Section 122 Tariff from 10% to 15%, which is the maximum rate under the statute. At this time, we still do not have the official order authorizing this action, but the President announced it, so we expect official instructions today. Under the law, Section 122 Tariffs are allowed for only 150 days, and any extension requires approval from Congress.

The final question to be answered is how the new tariff will affect countries that have signed trade agreements with the administration, such as the UK, the EU, India, Vietnam, and others. On Friday, President Trump declared that some of these trade agreements will stand. As soon as clarification is provided, CV International will advise you.

Best Regards,

John Boomhover, LCB

Director of Compliance & Customs Services