What Happened This Month In International Trade (February 2026)

Supreme Court

• On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Learning Resources, Inc., et al. v. Trump, ruling that IEEPA does not authorize the president to impose tariffs.

Administration

• In response to the Supreme Court's IEEPA ruling, President Trump issued a Proclamation imposing a 10% tariff on all goods under Section 122 of the Trade Act. The President also announced that he will be increasing it to the lawful maximum of 15%, but the effective date has not yet been set.
• President Trump signed an Executive Order continuing the suspension of duty-free de minimis treatment for all countries.
• The U.S. and Bangladesh released a joint statement on reciprocal trade. The U.S. is lowering the tariffs on Bangladeshi exports to 19% rather than the 20%. The U.S. will also establish a mechanism for a tariff rate quota for Bangladeshi textile and apparel imports, with goods coming in under the quota entering duty-free.
• President Trump announced on Truth Social that the U.S.'s trade deal with Japan is moving forward and that Japan will make its first set of investments under its $550 billion dollar commitment.
• The Trump Administration signed a final reciprocal trade agreement with Taiwan that will impose a 15% tariff rate for imports from Taiwan. Taiwan committed to eliminating or lowering tariffs on nearly all U.S. goods.
• The Trump Administration released its 2026 Maritime Action Plan which proposes a universal fee on all foreign-built vessels entering U.S. ports as well as a land port maintenance tax to prevent cargo carriers from avoiding paying the Harbor Maintenance Fee.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

• CBP issued guidance on the 10% Section 122 tariff. The guidance includes a list of the tariff numbers associated with the tariff and its exemptions.
• CBP published a CSMS message ending the collection of IEEPA tariffs on goods entered for consumption or withdrawn from warehouse on or after 2/24 at 12:01am.
• CBP's base metals Center of Excellence and Expertise (CEE) released updated guidance for calculating steel, aluminum and copper content for Section 232 tariff purposes.
• UFLPA Enforcement Statistics Dashboard update: in the previous dashboard, a shipment was defined as an aggregate of the totality of goods subjected to UFLPA enforcement actions. Now, a shipment is now defined as an individual import transaction within a shipment entry or customs declaration. This modification has resulted in a significant change in the number of UFLPA enforcement actions displayed.
• CBP released a fact sheet regarding the January 2026 Lapse in Appropriations FAQs. Most CBP employees will still be working and trade operations will continue as normal.

Congress

• A group of democratic U.S. House members introduced a bill that would require CBP to pay refunds for reciprocal tariffs without importers having to make protests or file an application.
• U.S. Senators Cassidy and Whitehouse introduced the Last Sale Valuation Act, which would end the practice of first sale to reduce duty exposure.
• The U.S. House of Representatives voted to end the Canada emergency that underlies 35% tariffs on a subset of Canadian goods that are not covered by USMCA or Section 232. The Senate will now need to vote on the measure to send it to the President's desk.
• The Fighting Trade Cheats Act was re-introduced by a bipartisan group of Senators. The bill would increase the penalty for trade fraud and create a right of private action to sue on customs fraud and gross negligence.

Department of Commerce

• A new antidumping and countervailing duty action has been filed against certain fatty acids from Indonesia and Malaysia. The allegation is that imports from Indonesia and Malaysia are unfairly subsidized and are being dumped.
• A new antidumping and countervailing duty action has been filed against Truck Bed Covers from China. The allegation is that imports from China are unfairly subsidized and being dumped.

International Trade Commission (ITC)

• The ITC posted the 2026 edition of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The new edition includes a variety of updates impacting medicines, fruits, vegetables, and other products. Changes are effective as of February 1.

Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS)

• BIS announced a settlement agreement with Applied Materials Inc. of California and Applied Materials Korea, Ltd. covering illegal exports of U.S. semiconductor manufacturing equipment to China. The companies agreed to pay a penalty of approximately $252 million – the second-highest penalty ever imposed by BIS.

U.S. Department of the Treasury

• The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FINCEN) launched a new dedicated webpage to confidentially accept whistleblower tips on fraud, money laundering, and sanctions violations.

Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)

• OFAC is launching a new online Voluntary Self-Disclosure Portal to provide a streamlined, secure method for submitting voluntary self-disclosures of potential violations of OFAC-administered sanctions programs.
• OFAC announced a $1.72M settlement with IMG Academy, LLC to settle its potential civil liability for 89 apparent violations of OFAC counternarcotics sanctions.
• OFAC announced that a U.S. person agreed to pay $3.7M to settle their potential civil liability for 20 apparent violations of OFAC sanctions on Syria.

Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)

• The CPSC published a list of approximately 600 HTS codes for products that may require the electronic filing of import certificates once the eFiling requirement takes effect this summer.

Industry News

• During Ford Motor Co.'s earnings call, the company revealed that its tariff costs jumped by almost $900 million in 2025 after the Trump administration informed the company that it could only apply Section 232 tariff credits back to November, rather than to May.
• Twenty eight industry groups signed a letter to the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) expressing concern with the Section 232 tariffs administrative burden and asking for additional hearings and opportunity to comment on inclusion & exclusion decisions.

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