Record / E-2026-0005
Supreme Court holds IEEPA does not authorize tariffs in Learning Resources v. Trump
In Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, No. 24-1287, consolidated with Trump v. V.O.S. Selections, No. 25-250, the Supreme Court held on February 20, 2026 that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize the President to impose tariffs. Chief Justice Roberts announced the judgment and delivered the opinion of the Court in part, joined by Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, Gorsuch, Barrett, and Jackson; Justices Thomas, Kavanaugh, and Alito dissented. Executive Order 14389, Ending Certain Tariff Actions, was signed the same day, and Customs and Border Protection ended collection for goods entered for consumption on or after 12:00 a.m. eastern time on February 24, 2026.
Context
This entry is marked verified_modified because an earlier account stated that the handling of refunds was remanded to the lower courts. The opinion does not address refunds: Justice Kavanaugh, dissenting, wrote that the Court says nothing about whether, and if so how, the Government should go about returning the billions of dollars it has collected from importers. The only remand was jurisdictional. An earlier estimate of 166 billion to 200 billion dollars in collections is not supported by any source located at intake; the Penn Wharton Budget Model reported that Customs and Border Protection had collected approximately 133.5 billion dollars under IEEPA authority as of December 14, 2025 and projected up to 175 billion dollars in refunds. The Court did not reach a single rationale: the major questions discussion was joined only by Roberts, Gorsuch, and Barrett, while Justice Kagan, joined by Justices Sotomayor and Jackson, concluded that the ordinary tools of statutory interpretation resolved the case without invoking that doctrine. The ruling addressed the IEEPA mechanism only and left other tariff authorities intact.
Legal status
Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, No. 24-1287, 607 U.S. ___ (U.S. February 20, 2026), consolidated with Trump v. V.O.S. Selections, No. 25-250. Holding: IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs. The judgment in No. 24-1287 was vacated and remanded with instructions to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction; the judgment in No. 25-250 was affirmed.
Sources
The document identifier is the citation. The URL is a resolution mechanism, and the archived copy is what the citation resolves to when the live link dies.
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Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, slip opinion
No. 24-1287, 607 U.S. ___ (U.S. February 20, 2026), consolidated with No. 25-250
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Executive Order 14389, Ending Certain Tariff Actions
EO 14389; 91 FR 9437; FR Doc. 2026-03832; signed February 20, 2026, published February 25, 2026
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CSMS 67834313, Ending Collection of International Emergency Economic Powers Act Duties
Customs and Border Protection CSMS 67834313, sent February 22, 2026
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Supreme Court Tariff Ruling: IEEPA Revenue and Potential Refunds, Penn Wharton Budget Model
Penn Wharton Budget Model, February 20, 2026