The Daily Fuckup

The tariff fight changed shape, but it did not go away. On Feb. 20, 2026, the Supreme Court held that IEEPA does not authorize the president to impose tariffs. Four days later, the administration put a new 10% import surcharge into place under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, effective Feb. 24, 2026. The statute caps that move at 150 days unless Congress extends it, which puts the current expiration date at July 24, 2026 unless the White House changes course first. ([supremecourt.gov](https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-1287_4gcj.pdf))

The replacement policy is broader than a handful of product-specific duties, but it is not a limitless blank check. The Federal Register proclamation says the surcharge applies to most imported articles at a 10% ad valorem rate, while carving out a list of excluded goods and categories. It also says the surcharge does not apply in addition to Section 232 tariffs. Where Section 232 covers only part of an import, the Section 122 surcharge applies only to the part not covered by Section 232 duties. ([federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/full_text/html/2026/02/25/2026-03824.html))

That detail matters because the legal structure is now doing the work that politics cannot. The Supreme Court’s ruling cut off one tariff theory, but the administration’s own Section 122 proclamation says the new surcharge is temporary and tied to a specific statutory clock. The Justice Department’s filing in the case also treats Section 122 as a separate source of tariff authority that can operate alongside IEEPA’s rejected theory only by its own terms, not by reviving the earlier emergency-tariff claim. ([supremecourt.gov](https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-1287_4gcj.pdf))

For importers, the problem is still uncertainty. A duty that can expire on a fixed date, be extended by Congress, or be suspended, modified, or terminated earlier is not the same thing as stable trade policy. Companies still have to price around the exceptions, the interaction with other tariff lines, and the possibility that the rulebook changes again before the summer ends. The tariff regime may be shorter now, but it is still a moving target. ([federalregister.gov](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/full_text/html/2026/02/25/2026-03824.html))