U.S. Trade Court: IEEPA authorizes presidential rescission of de minimis exemption

The U.S. Court of International Trade today held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) authorizes the president to rescind the section 321 de minimis exemption.

The court concluded that de minimis treatment is a statutory “privilege” that may be “nullif[ied]” or “void[ed]” by presidential action under IEEPA. The court rejected arguments that the rescission exceeded the president’s authority under IEEPA or the Constitution, or violated separation-of-powers principles, distinguishing the action from the tariffs invalidated by the Supreme Court in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump. According to the court, rescinding the de minimis exemption does not impose new tariffs, but instead subjects low-value imports to duties already established by Congress.

The court also held that actions by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other agencies implementing the president’s directive were ministerial extensions of the president’s action and therefore not reviewable under the Administrative Procedure Act.

Accordingly, the court granted summary judgment to the government on the claims challenging the rescission of de minimis treatment (Counts I and II). However, the court denied the government’s cross-motion for summary judgment on the separate claim relating to the president’s authority to impose tariffs under IEEPA (Count III), deferring judgment on that count and noting that the Supreme Court has already held that IEEPA does not authorize the president to impose tariffs. Congress has separately repealed the statutory de minimis exemption effective July 1, 2027.

The case is: Axle of Dearborn, Inc. d/b/a Detroit Axle v. Department of Commerce, et al., Slip Op. 26-94 (Ct. Int’l Trade Aug. 13, 2026). Read the court’s opinion.