What Happened This Month in International Trade (February 2026)

Supreme Court  

  • On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Learning Resources, Inc., et al. v. Trump, ruling that IEEPA does not authorize the president to impose tariffs. 

Administration 

  • In response to the Supreme Court’s IEEPA ruling, President Trump issued a Proclamation imposing a 10% tariff on all goods under Section 122 of the Trade Act. The President also announced that he will be increasing it to the lawful maximum of 15%, but the effective date has not yet been set. 
  • President Trump signed an Executive Order continuing the suspension of duty-free de minimis treatment for all countries. 
  • The U.S. and Bangladesh released a joint statement on reciprocal trade. The U.S. is lowering the tariffs on Bangladeshi exports to 19% rather than the 20%. The U.S. will also establish a mechanism for a tariff rate quota for Bangladeshi textile and apparel imports, with goods coming in under the quota entering duty-free.  
  • President Trump announced on Truth Social that the U.S.’s trade deal with Japan is moving forward and that Japan will make its first set of investments under its $550 billion dollar commitment. 
By |2026-02-26T11:40:45-05:00February 26, 2026|news, Snapshot, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Supreme Court Rules IEEPA Tariffs Are Unlawful

Today, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) issued its opinion in Learning Resources, Inc., et al. v. Trump. The Court ruled that IEEPA does not authorize the president to impose tariffs. 

The Court rejected the Trump Administration’s assertion that the statutory text of IEEPA delegates Congressional tariff powers to the President, finding that Congress would not have delegated “highly consequential power” through ambiguous language.

The majority wrote, “Based on two words separated by 16 others in … IEEPA, ‘regulate’ and ‘importation’–the President asserts the independent power to impose tariffs on imports from any country, of any product, at any rate, for any amount of time. Those words cannot bear such weight.”

The decision was 6-3, with Justice Thomas, Alito, and Kavanaugh dissenting.

What This Means for Importers

The Trump Administration has made clear that, regardless of the Supreme Court’s decision, tariffs will remain a cornerstone of their trade and “America First” policy. 

On January 9, 2026, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett said of the Supreme Court case: “Our expectation is that we’re going to win, and if we don’t win, then we know that we’ve got other tools that we can use that get us to the same place.” He also said in a Fox Business Interview that the Administration has a backup plan ready to go that would allow tariffs to be put “back into […]

DTL’s Jennifer Diaz and David Craven Featured in CNBC

We are thrilled to announce DTL’s Jennifer Diaz and Of Counsel David Craven were recently featured in an article by CNBC.

Reporter Lori Ann LaRocco dives into the recent rise in customs bond insufficiency notices in her Feb. 6 article: President Trump’s tariffs fueled U.S. Customs bond market boom. Now billions hang on Supreme Court ruling.

Here are two excerpts from the piece:

“Jennifer Diaz, board-certified international attorney at Diaz Trade Law, said the number of bond insufficiency notices issued has quadrupled since 2017 and has accelerated recently due to the volatile tariff environment.”

“David Craven, counsel to Diaz Trade, said the threat of new replacement tariffs, coupled with the existing liability facing surety companies, suggests that any refunds would not be immediate. “The fact that liability has gone up, and Customs is now asking the sureties for collateral … operations are at risk, and sureties understandably don’t want to be caught holding the bag,” Craven said.”

Read the full article here.

Jennifer Diaz was also featured in a separate CNBC piece on Feb. 12: Trump tariffs leave importers with record-breaking $3.5 billion U.S. Customs bond funding shortfall.

Jen said:

“In totality, it makes sense that insufficiencies are more than double,” said Jennifer Diaz, attorney at Diaz Trade Law. “Many companies take it for granted that a $50,000 bond should be able to cover you for […]

Breaking Trade News: Bangladesh Trade Deal, New 232 Guidance, UFLPA Dashboard Update

Here is a recap of the latest customs and international trade news:    

Administration  

  • Via a post on X, President Trump threatened to block the opening of a second bridge between Detroit and Windsor, Canada, “until the United States is fully compensated for everything we have given.”   
  • The Trump administration is reportedly considering tariff exemptions for major U.S. hyperscalers involved in construction of data centers needed for AI.
  • The U.S. and Bangladesh released a joint statement on reciprocal trade. The U.S. is lowering the tariffs on Bangladeshi exports to 19% rather than the 20%. The U.S. will also establish a mechanism for a tariff rate quota for Bangladeshi textile and apparel imports, with goods coming in under the quota entering duty-free. 

Customs and Border Protection (CBP)  

  • CBP’s base metals Center of Excellence and Expertise (CEE) released updated guidance for calculating steel, aluminum and copper content for Section 232 tariff purposes. 
  • UFLPA Enforcement Statistics Dashboard update: in the previous dashboard, a shipment was defined as an aggregate of the totality of goods subjected to UFLPA enforcement actions. Now, a shipment is now defined as an individual import transaction within a shipment entry or customs declaration. This […]
By |2026-02-12T11:51:03-05:00February 12, 2026|news, Snapshot, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Breaking Trade News: Trump Lowers India Tariffs, New UFLPA Dashboard

Here is a recap of the latest customs and international trade news:    

Administration 

  • Via a Truth Social Post, President Trump announced that after speaking with Indian Prime Minister Modi, the U.S. will drop reciprocal tariffs on India from 25% to 18%. 
  • During a meeting at the State Department, Vice President Vance said that the U.S. is seeking to organize a preferential trade zone for critical minerals. 

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 

  • CBP announced a new and improved Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Enforcement Statistics Dashboard that provides a more detailed view of CBP’s enforcement actions.  
  • CBP issued a Withhold Release Order against coffee harvested by Finca Monte Grande, a Mexican coffee farm. Effective immediately, CBP at all U.S. ports of entry will detain coffee harvested by Finca Monte Grande. 

Department of Commerce 

  • A new antidumping and countervailing duty action has been filed against certain fatty acids from Indonesia and Malaysia. The allegation is that imports from Indonesia and Malaysia are unfairly subsidized and are being dumped. 

United States Trade Representative (USTR) 

  • U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer joined Guatemala’s Minister of Economy Adriana Gabriela Garcia in signing the United States–Guatemala Agreement on […]
By |2026-02-06T15:05:44-05:00February 6, 2026|news, Snapshot, Uncategorized|0 Comments
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