By: West & Dunn August 12, 2026

Learning Resources v. Trump: What the Supreme Court’s Tariff Ruling Means for Wisconsin Importers

What Did the Supreme Court Actually Rule?

The fight centered on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA (50 U.S.C. § 1701 et seq.), a law built for freezing assets and cutting off hostile regimes. Starting in 2025, the federal government used it to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China tied to a declared fentanyl-trafficking emergency, and a sweeping set of “reciprocal” tariffs on nearly everyone else.

A toy company named Learning Resources, along with other businesses squeezed by the new costs, pushed back: nothing in IEEPA gives the President of the United States the power to impose such tariffs. On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court agreed in a 6-3 opinion by Chief Justice Roberts. The Court held that the power to tax imports belongs to Congress, and IEEPA never handed that power over to the President.

So, Are the Tariffs Gone?

Not entirely. The administration terminated the IEEPA tariffs by executive order, and Customs and Border Protection announced on February 22, 2026 that it would stop collecting them. But the Supreme Court’s decision only resolved the legal question of whether IEEPA authorized these tariffs. It did not address what happens next, including refunds, and issued no instructions on implementation.

That task fell to the U.S. Court of International Trade, which issued a nationwide “Refund Order” directing Customs and Border Protection to refund IEEPA tariffs to importers of record. That order is not final. It is currently on appeal before the Federal Circuit, so the refund process itself remains unsettled.

Wait, What Tariffs Are Still in Place?

Section 301 (19 U.S.C. § 2411) tariffs targeting China over technology transfer and intellectual property (IP) practices remain untouched, as do sector-specific tariffs on steel, aluminum, and certain vehicles. The administration briefly relied on a different statute, Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. § 2132), to impose a 10 percent global tariff starting February 24, 2026. That tariff expired by its own 150-day statutory limit on July 24, 2026, and the administration replaced it the same day with new Section 301 tariffs ranging from 10 to 12.5 percent on dozens of trading partners. Unlike Section 122, the new tariffs have no built-in expiration date.

Why Should Wisconsin Businesses Care?

This ruling creates real opportunity, but also real new risk, and the connection between them is easy to miss.

Only importers of record can seek a refund. Currently, if your business is not the importer of record on a given shipment, meaning you bought from a distributor or another party who handled the import, you do not have a direct right to recover anything from Customs and Border Protection, even if you ultimately bore the cost.
The refund process, however, is contested, not settled. The Court of International Trade’s refund order is being appealed, and separate disputes are already emerging over who is ultimately entitled to a refund, either the importer or a customer who paid a tariff-related surcharge that was passed through.
Passing tariff costs to customers now carries litigation risk. Since the ruling, more than 100 consumer class actions have been filed nationwide against companies across industries, arguing that businesses that raised prices and publicly attributed the increase to tariffs are unjustly enriched by keeping the higher price in place while also standing to collect a government refund on the same duties. These suits are not limited to companies that sought refunds; the filings name defendants regardless of whether they ever applied.
Other tariffs are already filling the gap. With the administration replacing expired tariffs with new ones under Section 301 authority, a business’s total tariff exposure may not have dropped much even after this ruling.

What Should You Do Right Now?

Determine whether your business is the importer of record. This status determines whether you have a direct path to a refund at all, separate from any broader industry news about tariffs being struck down. If you are the importer of record, act now to preserve the claim. Refund rights can lapse as entries liquidate, so file protests within the applicable deadlines rather than waiting for the Federal Circuit to rule.
Assess your potential exposure. Determine whether your business imposed direct tariff surcharges or publicly attributed price increases to IEEPA tariffs and identify which customers could be affected.
Review your public statements and customer contracts. Examine press releases, earnings materials, and customer communications for any language tying your pricing to tariffs. Also check for arbitration clauses, class action waivers, or pricing adjustment provisions.
Treat your refund strategy and your future public communications as one decision, not two. If you are the importer of record, align your approach to recovering a refund with your plan for handling any claims from customers or downstream purchasers. Be deliberate about how you describe pricing decisions and any refunds going forward, both publicly and to customers.

Where Does This Leave You?

This ruling has a final answer to one question: the President does not have the legal authority to impose these tariffs under IEEPA. It doesn’t answer what happens with the money already collected, and it is not a sign that tariffs generally are going away. An immediate task is narrower and more urgent than it might first appear: know whether you are positioned to seek a refund at all, and get ahead of the litigation risk now surfacing around how tariff costs were passed on to customers.

If your business needs help assessing refund rights, preparing for tariff-related disputes, or other business matters, contact West & Dunn at 608-535-6420 or visit our Contact Us page.

Disclaimer: The contents of this article are provided for legal information only and shall not be construed as legal advice. Nothing in this article is intended to create an attorney-client relationship where one does not already exist.

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