BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) \u2014 Industry members praised the Supreme Court\u2019s decision Friday that ruled illegal President Donald Trump\u2019s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs.\u00a0But they aren’t holding their breath for the benefits to trickle down to the marketplace.<\/p>\n
Trump had used IEEPA to impose his “reciprocal” tariffs and, separately, tariffs based on purported emergencies due to fentanyl imports. The Supreme Court decision was in a case brought by several states and small businesses, including Vermont\u2019s Terry Precision Cycles<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n But after the decision Trump said he’d impose an immediate, temporary, 10% tariff across the board using a different law to replace the IEEPA tariffs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Importers should eventually be able to recover the millions in tariffs they\u2019ve paid under the now-illegal use of IEEPA, but the Supreme Court decision did not make any orders on that, so details will have to be decided by lower courts. On the upside, on Feb. 6 Customs and Border Protection announced an automated electronic refund portal<\/a> was operational, which could make the process easier. But on Friday industry group PeopleForBikes said, \u201cthe process and timeline remain unclear\u201d for refunds.\u00a0<\/p>\n Industry consultant Patrick Cunnane called the ruling \u201ca landmark victory for the rule of law\u201d that will provide \u201cvital relief for our industry.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c(T)he Court has restored a level of economic stability that we need,\u201d Cunnane said in a text to BRAIN. \u201cCrucially, this decision opens the door for our industry to pursue recovery of the millions in duties paid under these unlawful measures.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, we must remain engaged because while this specific authority was checked, the administration still holds significant power under Section 232 and 301,\u201d\u00a0 Cunnane said, referring to trade laws that allow the president to impose certain tariffs legally.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe must watch closely to see if and how the White House attempts to pivot these same trade barriers to those alternative legal avenues,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Cunnane made the remarks before Trump made a social media post Friday that called the justices who voted for the 6-3 decision \u201cvery unpatriotic\u201d and \u201cFOOLS.\u201d<\/p>\n