At a Glance:
Challenged Orders: IEEPA Reciprocal, IEEPA China, IEEPA Mexico, and IEEPA Canada
Potential Duty Refunds: Importers should file timely protests with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to preserve refund eligibility.
Oral Arguments: Live-streamed at 10:00 a.m. ET on November 5, 2025: https://www.supremecourt.gov/
Not challenged: IEEPA Brazil (40%) and IEEPA India (25%)
Lighthill stands ready to challenge these actions in court.
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) consolidated two separate cases arising from the tariff-related proceedings before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit: Trump et al. v. V.O.S. Selections Inc. et al. (No. 25-250) and Learning Resources Inc. et al. v. Trump et al.(No. 24-1287), respectively. Oral arguments will be live-streamed on the SCOTUS website at 10:00 a.m. on November 5, 2025: https://www.supremecourt.gov/.
Learning Resources Inc. and Hand2mind, Inc., two toy companies, challenged the IEEPA “reciprocal” tariffs and IEEPA China (or “opioid”) tariffs in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on April 24, 2025. The government lost at the district court level on the issue of the preliminary injunction, and the Trump administration appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The appellate court did not reach a final judgment because SCOTUS granted certiorari before judgment and agreed to hear the case.
At the same time, the U.S. Court of International Trade was reviewing a consolidated case involving similar issues. In the first action, twelve States sued the Trump administration over four IEEPA orders covering imports from Canada, Mexico, China, and the global “reciprocal” tariffs. The second action was brought by five businesses challenging the IEEPA reciprocal tariffs. The Court of International Trade held that the tariff orders exceeded President’s statutory authority. The Trump administration appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which affirmed that IEEPA does not authorize any of the challenged tariff orders and held the orders unlawful in their entirety. The Trump administration subsequently appealed to SCOTUS, which granted a writ of certiorari to hear that case as well.
Both cases were subsequently consolidated. SCOTUS will hear oral arguments on the IEEPA Executive Orders on November 5, 2025. The filing deadlines for written submissions are as follows:
Response briefs on the merits - due October 20, 2025.
Response amicus curiae briefs in support of either party on the merits - October 24, 2025.
Reply briefs - due October 30, 2025.
Key Takeaways:
Challenged Orders: IEEPA Reciprocal, IEEPA China, IEEPA Mexico, and IEEPA Canada
Duty Refunds: To receive potential duty refunds on the IEEPA duties described above, importers should monitor the status of their entries and file timely protests with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Entries generally auto-liquidate on a 314-day cycle. Any unliquidated entries will be deemed liquidated by operation of law unless liquidation is suspended (for example, under AD/CVD orders). Importers have 180 days from the date of liquidation to file a protest.
Not Challenged: IEEPA Brazil (40%) and IEEPA India (25%)
o Lighthill stands ready to challenge these actions in court. Please reach out should you be interested in pursuing litigation.