https://teleship.com/assets/USTariffsSupremeCourtPost-D2jAWNVd.js

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2<p class="text-sm text-gray-500 italic mb-6">Updated on Feb. 25, 2026</p>
3
4<p class="lead text-xl text-gray-700 mb-6">The past week has been among the most consequential in recent memory for anyone shipping goods from abroad to the United States. A landmark Supreme Court ruling, a rapid-fire White House response, and new executive orders have reshaped the duty landscape. All while parcels are still in transit. Here's everything you need to know, and what we're doing about it at Teleship.</p>
5
6<h2>The Supreme Court Strikes Down IEEPA Tariffs</h2>
7
8<p>On 20 February 2026, the US Supreme Court issued a 6-3 ruling in <em>Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump</em>, holding that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) <strong>does not authorise the President to impose tariffs.</strong> This struck down the sweeping "reciprocal" tariffs that had been applied to goods from virtually every country since mid-2025, including the 10% IEEPA duty on UK-origin goods.</p>
9
10<p class="mb-8"><strong>For international sellers, this sounded like good news. But the relief was short-lived.</strong></p>
11
12<p>Within hours of the ruling, the White House issued three executive orders:</p>
13
14<ol>
15  <li><strong>Ending Certain Tariff Actions</strong> - formally terminating the IEEPA tariffs. The order directed CBP to cease collection "as soon as practicable," but CBP confirmed that collection stopped at 12:00 a.m. ET on 24 February 2026.</li>
16  <li><strong>Imposing a Temporary Import Surcharge</strong> - replacing IEEPA tariffs with a new global tariff on all imports under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, effective 24 February 2026, at a formally enacted rate of 10%. On 21 February, Trump announced via Truth Social his intention to raise this to 15% - the statutory maximum - but as of the date of this post, no implementing proclamation has been signed and the Federal Register confirms 10% as the operative rate.</li>
17  <li><strong>Continuing the Suspension of Duty-Free De Minimis Treatment for All Countries</strong> - making absolutely clear that the de minimis suspension introduced in August 2025 remains fully in force, regardless of the IEEPA ruling.</li>
18</ol>
19
20<p class="mt-8"><strong>The net result:</strong> the legal basis changed, and the rates have shifted. For UK-made goods, the previous 10% IEEPA rate is replaced by a 10% Section 122 surcharge from 24 February 2026 - no change in rate, but a different legal vehicle. If the announced 15% increase is formally enacted, that would represent a 5 percentage point increase. For Chinese-made goods via postal clearance, the IEEPA reciprocal component drops from 20% to 10% under the enacted rate (or 15% if the increase is formalised) - though Section 301 tariffs remain fully in force on top for commercial entries.</p>
21
22<h2>Impact on Shipments from the UK: Postal Clearance vs. Commercial Clearance</h2>
23
24<h3 class="text-2xl font-semibold mt-8">Postal Clearance (Teleship Postal Tracked)</h3>
25
26<p>For postal shipments, the duty calculation is straightforward: a flat ad valorem surcharge applies to all parcels, regardless of where the goods were manufactured. Unlike commercial clearance, there is no country-of-origin complexity - every postal shipment is assessed at the same rate on declared value.</p>
27
28<p>The formally enacted rate is 10%. Trump has announced his intention to raise this to 15%, but no implementing proclamation has been published as of today. Teleship is monitoring this closely and will update calculations the moment a formal order is issued.</p>
29
30<p>For context at the current enacted rate: a £50 order shipped via postal clearance will attract approximately $6.30 in duty at 10%. If the 15% rate is formalised, that rises to approximately $9.50. There is no additional layering of tariffs by origin for postal shipments.</p>
31
32<h3 class="text-2xl font-semibold mt-8">Commercial Clearance (Teleship Standard Tracked)</h3>
33
34<p>Commercial clearance shipments require full customs entry and are assessed on an ad valorem basis. The duty rate is determined by the country of manufacture, not the country from which the parcel is dispatched. Under the current framework:</p>
35
36<ul>
37  <li><strong>The Section 122 surcharge applies to all countries of origin</strong> at the enacted rate of 10%, with an announced but not yet formalised increase to 15%. Additional duties layer on top for commercial entries depen

37ding on where goods were made.</li>
38  <li><strong>UK-made goods:</strong> 10% Section 122 surcharge (same rate as previous IEEPA duty, different legal basis) plus any applicable product-specific HTS duties. Rising to 15% if the announced increase is formalised.</li>
39  <li><strong>EU-made goods:</strong> standard MFN rate plus 10% Section 122 surcharge on top - the bilateral deal that previously prevented stacking for high-MFN goods is currently in legal limbo. See the section below for detail.</li>
40  <li><strong>Chinese-made goods:</strong> The Section 122 surcharge of 10% replaces the previous 20% IEEPA reciprocal rate - a significant reduction on that component. However, Section 301 tariffs remain fully in force on top, so the overall effective rate is still substantial across most product categories.</li>
41  <li><strong>Section 232 tariffs</strong> (on steel, aluminum) remain entirely unaffected by the Supreme Court ruling and apply regardless of origin.</li>
42</ul>
43
44<p>If you ship goods manufactured in multiple countries, each item must declare its correct country of origin. Getting this wrong is not just a compliance risk. It could mean significant underpayment or overpayment of duties.</p>
45
46<h2>Winners and Losers by Country of Origin</h2>
47
48<ul>
49  <li><strong>UK-made goods</strong> face no immediate rate change under the enacted 10% Section 122 - the same rate as the previous IEEPA duty. However, if the announced 15% is formalised, that represents a 5 percentage point increase with no offset. For commercial clearance, standard HTS product duties stack on top as before.</li>
50  <li><strong>EU-made goods</strong> via postal clearance are treated identically to UK-made goods - the enacted 10% flat rate with no MFN stacking. Via commercial clearance, all EU-origin goods currently face their standard MFN rate plus the 10% Section 122 surcharge on top - the bilateral deal that previously capped effective rates and prevented stacking for high-MFN goods is in legal limbo. See the EU section below for detail.</li>
51  <li><strong>Chinese-made goods</strong> see the clearest rate movement under the switch from IEEPA to Section 122. Via postal clearance, the applicable rate drops from 20% to 10% under the enacted rate - a significant reduction. Via commercial clearance, Section 301 tariffs remain fully in force on top of the 10% surcharge. The channel you use makes a material difference if your goods are manufactured in China. Note that if the 15% rate is formalised, the postal benefit is reduced but still represents an improvement on the previous 20%.</li>
52  <li><strong>Goods made in other countries:</strong> For countries that had favourable reciprocal tariffs with the U.S. at 10%, duties remain unchanged. For other countries, applicable duties will reduce.</li>
53</ul>
54
55<h2>EU-Made Goods: What Happened to the Bilateral Deal?</h2>
56
57<p>This is one of the more technically complex - and underreported - consequences of the Supreme Court ruling, and it matters if you're shipping goods manufactured in the EU.</p>
58
59<p>In August 2025, the US and EU announced a bilateral trade framework. The key feature for importers was a <strong>15% ceiling</strong> on all EU-origin goods: if your goods had an MFN (standard) tariff rate below 15%, you paid 15%. But crucially, if the MFN rate was <strong>above 15%</strong> - as is the case for many apparel, footwear, and textile products - you only paid the MFN rate, with no additional reciprocal surcharge stacked on top. The EU described this as a "clear ceiling, no stacking."</p>
60
61<p>For example, under the deal, women's cotton trousers with an MFN rate of 16.6% attracted only 16.6% - protected from any additional tariff. Without the deal, they would have faced 16.6% MFN plus a reciprocal surcharge.</p>
62
63<p class="mb-8"><strong>That protection is currently in legal limbo - and the rate picture has also shifted.</strong></p>
64
65<p>The deal's tariff terms were implemented as modifications to the IEEPA executive orders, using specific HTSUS headings in subchapter III of Chapter 99. When the Supreme Court struck down IEEPA and the White House formally rescinded the IEEPA tariff orders, those HTSUS headings ceased to have legal force. The implementation mechanism for the EU deal's MFN-cap provisions has fallen away.</p>
66
67<p>USTR Ambassador Greer has stated publicly that bilateral deals remain in force. But as legal analysts at Global Trade Alert have noted, stating they remain in force and having a functioning legal instrument to give effect to them are different things. As of the date of this post, no Federal Register notice or CBP guidance has reimplemented the EU deal's MFN-cap terms under Section 122.</p>
68
69<p>The practical consequence for sellers shipping EU-manufactured goods via commercial clearance is straightforward: all EU-origin goods currently face their standard MFN rate plus the 10% Section 122 surcharge on top. The deal's protection - which prevented stacking for goods with MFN rates above 15% - is not currently operative. For example, women's cotton trousers with a 16.6% MFN rate now attract 16.6% MFN plus 10% Section 122, rather than 16.6% alone as the deal intended. If the 15% rate is formalised, that becomes 16.6% plus 15%. Either way, the no-stacking ceiling the EU deal provided is suspended until reimplemented.</p>
70
71<p>The administration has both the incentive and (arguably) the mechanism - via Executive Order 14346, which was not rescinded - to reimplement the bilateral deal terms under Section 122. Watch for a Federal Register notice. Until one appears, treat EU-origin goods as subject to the flat Section 122 rate for commercial clearance purposes.</p>
72
73<p>Note that via <strong>postal clearance</strong>, this distinction does not apply - postal shipments are assessed at the flat Section 122 rate regardless of origin or bilateral deal status.</p>
74
75<h2>The IEEPA Refund Question: Don't Hold Your Breath</h2>
76
77<p>The Supreme Court ruling means that the $133-160 billion in IEEPA tariffs collected since February 2025 were, in legal terms, unlawfully imposed. Refunds are theoretically owed.</p>
78
79<p>In practice, getting them will be neither quick nor easy. The Supreme Court's majority opinion said nothing about how or when refunds should be issued. In his dissent, Justice Kavanaugh warned the process is likely to be a "mess." Here is where things stand:</p>
80
81<ul>
82  <li><strong>No automatic refund mechanism exists.</strong> The Court did not order the government to issue refunds.</li>
83  <li><strong>The case has been remanded</strong> to the US Court of International Trade (CIT), which will work through how refunds should be processed.</li>
84  <li><strong>Estimates put the process at 12 to 18 months minimum</strong> before meaningful refunds flow. Given the volume ($160bn+) and complexity (34 million+ entries), some experts believe the process could take years.</li>
85  <li>The Trump administration has given no indication it will expedite refunds. Trump's own post-ruling press conference focused entirely on the new Section 122 tariff, not on restitution.</li>
86</ul>
87
88<p><strong>Our advice:</strong> do not factor IEEPA refunds into your current financial planning. That said, <strong>Teleship will be applying for these refunds on behalf of our customers.</strong> Because our appointed brokers act as importer of record for shipments processed through our platform, we are in a position to pursue refund claims directly. We will clarify what parts of refunds can be returned and do so as the process becomes clearer.</p>
89
90<p>However, we want to be transparent: there is no confirmed timeline, no guarantee of recovery, and the outcome will depend on future litigation and court proceedings at the CIT. We will keep customers updated as those proceedings develop. Do not treat this as a near-term cash flow item.</p>
91
92<h2>Parcels Already in Transit: What Are Your Rights?</h2>
93
94<p>The Section 122 proclamation includes an in-transit exemption, but it is narrower than many sellers assume, and it creates a difficult situation for ecommerce retailers who have already collected duties from their customers at checkout.</p>
95
96<h3 class="text-2xl font-semibold mt-8">What the exemption actually covers</h3>
97
98<p>The exemption applies to goods that were loaded onto a vessel and already on the final international leg of transit before 12:01 a.m. EST on 24 February 2026, and entered into the US before 12:01 a.m. on 28 February 2026. Those shipments are assessed under the old IEEPA rates, not Section 122.</p>
99
100<h3 class="text-2xl font-semibold mt-8">The problem for most ecommerce sellers</h3>
101
102<p>The exemption does not apply to parcels sitting in a UK warehouse, a fulfilment centre, sort center or even with Teleship pending to be exported. "In transit" means on the international mode of transport, loaded onto the plane or vessel making the crossing. The vast majority of ecommerce orders placed before 24 February but not yet physically on an international flight or ship are not covered by the exemption. They will be assessed at the new 10% Section 122 rate when they eventually cross.</p>
103
104<h3 class="text-2xl font-semibold mt-8">The duty mismatch problem</h3>
105
106<p>This creates a real issue for retailers who collect duties at checkout. If your store calculated and charged your customer a duty based on the old IEEPA rate - say 10% for UK-origin goods - the enacted Section 122 rate is also 10%, so most orders placed before 24 February should not face a shortfall at the current rate. However, if the announced 15% increase is formalised and applies before your parcel ships, you would face a 5 percentage point gap. Either you absorb the difference, pass it on to the customer after the fact (which is very difficult), or the parcel arrives with unexpected charges.</p>
107
108<p>There is no clean solution if the 15% rate is formalised mid-pipeline. The practical options are to absorb the difference on orders already placed, update your checkout duty calculations immediately for new orders, and communicate proactively with customers whose orders are affected. Teleship's duty calculations are being updated to reflect current Section 122 rates and will be adjusted again the moment a formal order raising the rate is published - see the section below on what we are doing.</p>
109
110<p>If you have parcels that genuinely qualify under the in-transit exemption, on an international vessel or flight before the 24 February cutoff, Teleship will identify and contest any incorrect Section 122 assessments on your behalf. Our brokers will handle this as part of our standard service.</p>
111
112<h2>What We're Doing at Teleship</h2>
113
114<p>We know that duty calculation accuracy is not optional. The changing landscape - from IEEPA to Section 122, from the in-transit exemption to the uncertainty around whether the rate is 10% or 15% - creates real risk for sellers if the wrong rates are applied at checkout or in shipping documentation.</p>
115
116<p>Our duty calculations will be updated within the next few days to reflect:</p>
117
118<ul>
119  <li>The transition from IEEPA rates to the Section 122 surcharge for all c

119ountries of origin, effective 24 February 2026 - currently 10%, with monitoring for the announced 15% increase pending a formal implementing proclamation.</li>
120  <li>Accurate layering of Section 301 tariffs for Chinese-manufactured goods and Section 232 tariffs where applicable, on top of the Section 122 surcharge.</li>
121  <li>The in-transit exemption for parcels already in the network.</li>
122  <li>Any CBP guidance issued on implementation of the new framework.</li>
123</ul>
124
125<p>We will communicate any changes directly within the app as they go live, and reserve the right to apply surcharges should parcel in transit become subject to higher rate. As always, if you have questions about how a specific shipment or product category is being assessed, our team is available.</p>
126
127<h2>The Bigger Picture for UK Ecommerce</h2>
128
129<p>The events of the past week are a reminder that cross-border trade policy can change faster than any business can plan for. The IEEPA tariffs that UK sellers adapted to over the past six months have now been replaced by a new legal vehicle - and the rates have shifted depending on where your goods are manufactured.</p>
130
131<p>For UK sellers, the realistic position today is:</p>
132
133<ul>
134  <li>Via postal clearance, a flat 10% surcharge applies to all shipments regardless of origin - simple and consistent. Trump has announced his intention to raise this to 15% but no implementing order has been published as of this post. Via commercial/courier clearance, rates vary by country of manufacture, with Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods and HTS product duties layering on top of the Section 122 surcharge.</li>
135  <li>EU-manufactured goods via commercial clearance currently face their standard MFN rate plus the Section 122 surcharge on top - the bilateral EU deal's no-stacking protection for high-MFN goods is in legal limbo pending reimplementation under Section 122. Watch for a Federal Register notice.</li>
136  <li>Standard product-level HTS duties apply on top of all surcharges for commercial entries.</li>
137  <li>Country of origin - the country where goods were manufactured, not where they were shipped from - determines the duty rate. Accurate declaration is non-negotiable.</li>
138  <li>The de minimis exemption is gone and is not coming back any time soon.</li>
139  <li>IEEPA refunds are a long-term possibility, not a near-term cash flow item. Teleship will be pursuing these on your behalf.</li>
140  <li>Parcels already in transit before 24 February are protected by the in-transit exemption. Teleship will handle any incorrect assessments on qualifying shipments.</li>
141</ul>
142
143<hr class="my-12" />
144
145<p class="text-sm text-gray-500 italic">Teleship is a UK-based cross-border shipping and compliance platform. This post is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. For guidance specific to your business, please consult a qualified customs attorney or trade advisor.</p>
146
147<p class="text-sm text-gray-500 italic">Sources: White House Executive Orders (20 Feb 2026), US CBP E-Commerce FAQ, Supreme Court ruling in Learning Resources Inc. v. Trump (20 Feb 2026), International Trade Insights, Flexport, NPR, CBS News, Council on Foreign Relations, Tax Foundation, Yale Budget Lab, Global Trade Alert (From IEEPA to Section 122, 21 Feb 2026), European Commission EU-US Trade Deal Q&A, US-EU Joint Statement on Trade Framework (21 Aug 2025).</p>
148
149<p class="text-sm text-gray-500 italic mt-8">This post has been updated to reflect that the enacted Section 122 duty rate remains at 10%, despite President Trump's public announcements of an increase to 15%. No formal implementing proclamation has been published as of this update.</p>
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