History of the IEEPA Tariffs
Background: From TWEA to IEEPA
Long before the IEEPA tariffs of 2025, the U.S. government wielded emergency economic powers under the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917 (TWEA). TWEA gave presidents sweeping authority during wartime, which later expanded to peacetime. President Franklin D. Roosevelt used TWEA to declare an emergency in 1933, and subsequent presidents kept those emergencies in force for decades.
In 1971, President Nixon famously invoked TWEA (and other authority) to impose a 10% import surcharge as part of the "Nixon Shock" — a unilateral move that abandoned the Bretton Woods gold standard. Courts ultimately upheld the tariff under TWEA in the Yoshida case.
Congress passed IEEPA in 1977 specifically to reform and limit these powers. The law restricted presidential authority to peacetime national emergencies, required annual renewal, and imposed reporting obligations to Congress.
A Brief Timeline in IEEPA Tariffs
February 1, 2025: President Trump issued three executive orders invoking IEEPA to impose tariffs on imports from Canada (25%), Mexico (25%), and China (10%), citing national emergencies related to illegal immigration and fentanyl trafficking.
February 3, 2025: President Trump agreed to pause the Canada and Mexico tariffs for 30 days after both countries pledged border security measures. The China 10% tariff was not paused.
February 4, 2025: The 10% tariff on Chinese imports takes effect. The Canada and Mexico tariffs are paused under the 30-day agreement.
February 13, 2025: The White House published its plan for "Reciprocal Trade and Tariffs," outlining a framework to impose individualized rates on countries with trade barriers against U.S. goods.
March 3, 2025: China tariffs were raised to 20% under the same IEEPA emergency authority.
March 4, 2025: The 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico (10% on Canadian energy) and the increased 20% tariff on China take effect.
April 2, 2025 — "Liberation Day": President Trump signed Executive Order 14257, declaring a national emergency over U.S. trade deficits and invoking IEEPA to impose a baseline 10% tariff on imports from all countries, effective April 5. Higher country-specific "reciprocal" tariff rates on approximately 60 countries were scheduled to take effect April 9.
April 4, 2025: China announced 34% retaliatory tariffs on all U.S. goods, effective April 10.
April 5, 2025: The 10% baseline tariff on imports from all countries takes effect under EO 14257.
April 9, 2025: Higher country-specific reciprocal tariff rates take effect briefly. Later that day, President Trump announces a 90-day pause on these rates for all countries except China, reverting them to the 10% baseline tariff. China's reciprocal tariff is raised to 125% under EO 14259.
April 10, 2025: China's 34% retaliatory tariffs on all U.S. goods take effect.
April 11, 2025: The White House issued a memo clarifying that certain electronics — including semiconductors, computers, and smartphones — were excluded from the reciprocal tariffs.
May 12, 2025: The United States and China announce a 90-day tariff ceasefire following negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland. The U.S. agrees to reduce tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%, and China agrees to reduce tariffs on U.S. goods from 125% to 10%.
May 14, 2025: The U.S.-China tariff ceasefire takes effect.
May 28, 2025: A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) unanimously ruled that the IEEPA tariffs are unlawful, permanently enjoining their enforcement. The government immediately appealed and sought a stay of the injunction.
July 7, 2025: President Trump signs EO 14316, extending the 90-day pause on country-specific reciprocal tariffs by an additional 90 days (to approximately August 1, 2025) for countries engaged in negotiations.
August 7, 2025: The paused country-specific reciprocal tariffs were implemented with modifications following negotiations.
August 29, 2025: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC), sitting en banc, affirmed the CIT ruling that the IEEPA tariffs are unlawful. The CAFC stayed its decision pending Supreme Court review.
September 9, 2025: The Supreme Court grants expedited certiorari to hear the consolidated IEEPA tariff cases (Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump and V.O.S. Selections v. Trump).
October 30, 2025: Following a meeting between President Trump and President Xi in Busan, South Korea, both sides agree to extend the 10% tariff ceasefire rate for one year, to November 10, 2026.
November 5, 2025: The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump.
February 20, 2026: The Supreme Court issued its 6–3 ruling, striking down the IEEPA tariffs as exceeding the President's statutory authority. President Trump simultaneously signed executive orders ending the IEEPA tariff collections and invoking a separate statutory authority (Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974) to impose a 10% worldwide tariff.
Economic Scale of the Tariffs
The IEEPA tariffs were among the most sweeping tariff actions in modern U.S. history. At their peak, they applied to virtually all U.S. trading partners, covering trillions of dollars in annual imports. The Penn-Wharton Budget Model estimated that the tariffs generated over $175 billion in revenue during the period they were in effect — funds that are now potentially subject to refund following the Supreme Court's ruling.