Foley & Lardner LLP partner Gregory Husisian appeared in a SupplyChainBrain video interview to discuss the U.S. Supreme Court case on the Trump administration’s imposition of tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and options the administration can consider should the court strike them down.
Husisian said after oral arguments were heard that “there were a lot of avenues where you could potentially see justices striking down IEEPA-based tariffs.”
Should the court rule against them, the administration will still have other statutory levers it can pull — such as Section 301, Section 232, and Section 338 of the Tariff Act — to impose tariffs, Husisian explained.
“You already have coverage of something close to 40% of all [U.S.] imports by already launched Section 232 actions. So, that can be viewed as a backup that was started months ago for almost half of all U.S. imports,” he said. Husisian noted though that these options are narrower, placing limits on the duration, length, and justification for tariffs.
Husisian also outlined the complexities of a potential tariff refund process, suggesting that that the Supreme Court could decide to grant refunds directly to importers or alternatively, remand the issue to the trade courts to determine the appropriate process.
