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The reciprocal tariffs announced by President Donald Trump in April 2025 were not a fixed, lasting tariff schedule. They began as duties imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), changed through later actions, and were ended in February 2026 after the Supreme Court ruled that the President exceeded his authority under that law. A separate import surcharge was then announced under a different law, section 122; the available official proclamation set an initial end date of July 24, 2026, but does not establish its status after that date. Estimates of price effects are therefore scenario-dependent, and observed price increases during the tariff period do not by themselves show how much tariffs caused.
What were Trump’s reciprocal tariffs?
“Reciprocal tariffs” was the Trump administration’s name for a set of import duties announced on April 2, 2025. Executive Order 14257 declared a national emergency and invoked IEEPA, a law governing certain presidential economic powers during a declared emergency.
The order argued that persistent U.S. goods trade deficits reflected nonreciprocal trade relationships, differences in tariffs, non-tariff barriers and trading-partner policies. The administration characterized those conditions as a threat to national security and the U.S. economy. Those were the administration’s stated grounds for the action, not findings that should be treated as independently established by the order itself.
Executive Order 14257 stated, “I hereby declare a national emergency with respect to this threat.” That sentence records the President’s legal finding in the order.
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What did Trump’s reciprocal tariffs originally change?
The White House’s April 2, 2025 fact sheet described a 10% baseline tariff on goods from all countries, scheduled to take effect April 5, and higher individualized rates for countries with which the United States had the largest trade deficits, scheduled for April 9. These were the original announced terms, not a reliable guide to later or current duties.
- Exceptions: The initial fact sheet listed exclusions for some goods already covered by specified Section 232 tariffs, certain goods that could be subject to future Section 232 action, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, lumber, bullion, and some energy and mineral products.
- Possible adjustments: The administration said rates could be changed in response to trading-partner retaliation or steps taken to address its concerns.
- Later changes: The U.S. Trade Representative’s record documents subsequent actions in 2025 and 2026. A September 5, 2025 White House fact sheet, for example, described changes to covered products and a framework for implementing trade agreements, including additions to and removals from an exclusion annex.
Because the policy was amended over time, its first announcement should not be mistaken for a complete account of what applied to a particular product at a later date.
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Are the reciprocal tariffs still in effect?
The specified IEEPA duties ended in February 2026. On February 20, the Supreme Court held that the President exceeded his authority under IEEPA in imposing the reciprocal tariffs. The Budget Lab at Yale’s contemporaneous account said the IEEPA tariffs were vacated.
Also on February 20, the White House issued an order stating that additional ad valorem duties imposed under Executive Order 14257 and other listed IEEPA actions would no longer be in effect and, as soon as practicable, would no longer be collected. The order said it did not affect other actions or the underlying declared emergencies. The decision and order therefore ended the specified IEEPA duties; they did not automatically eliminate every other tariff or import measure.
How was the section 122 surcharge different?
On February 20, 2026, the White House separately issued a proclamation imposing a 10% ad valorem import surcharge under section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974. This was a separate measure under a different legal authority, not a continuation of the invalidated IEEPA reciprocal duties. The proclamation included exceptions and set an initial effective period from February 24 through July 24, 2026.
The proclamation said section 122 allows a temporary surcharge for no more than 150 days unless Congress extends it. The documented proclamation does not establish what happened after July 24, 2026. It is therefore not enough to determine whether the surcharge is in force, has expired, or has been changed since then.
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Will tariffs make prices go up?
Tariffs can raise the cost of imported goods or inputs, but the amount and timing of any consumer-price effect depend on factors such as how much of the duty businesses pass through, how suppliers and buyers respond, and what happens to other costs and economic conditions. A rise in prices during the same period is not, by itself, proof that tariffs caused all—or any specific share—of that increase.
The Budget Lab at Yale’s February 20, 2026 analysis offers a modeled comparison, not a record of observed inflation:
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| Scenario | Modeled short-run overall price-level change | Modeled average household cost |
|---|---|---|
| Tariffs remaining after the Supreme Court decision | 0.6% increase | About $800; about $400 for households at the bottom of the income distribution |
| Alternative scenario in which IEEPA tariffs remained | 1.2% increase | Not stated for this scenario in the cited Budget Lab report |
These are the Budget Lab’s short-run scenario estimates, conditional on assumptions about broader economic effects and Federal Reserve responses. A price-level change is not the same thing as an ongoing inflation rate, and the estimate does not mean that every household would pay the same amount.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What do observed price indicators show?
The Budget Lab reported that, from 2025 through January 2026, prices for imported core personal-consumption-expenditure (PCE) goods rose 1.5%, as did prices for imported durable goods. It described those increases as well above prior-year comparisons. These indicators describe price movements over a period; they do not isolate the tariffs’ causal contribution.
The Lab’s indicator report cautioned that its review was descriptive rather than causal, that major economic changes occurred at the same time, and that its estimate of tariff pass-through varied by method. Most of the indicator data also predated the Supreme Court decision on February 20, 2026. The reported percentages should not be read as the tariffs’ measured effect on all consumer prices.
What did the Congressional Budget Office expect?
The Congressional Budget Office said its latest economic outlook projected that trade-policy changes since January 2025 would temporarily raise inflation, reduce real investment, lower real gross domestic product, and reduce employment. It said termination of the IEEPA tariffs dampened those projected effects.
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Quick Recap
What should readers take away?
- The April 2025 announcement used IEEPA and was publicly justified by the administration as a response to U.S. goods trade deficits and nonreciprocal trade practices.
- The initial 10% baseline and scheduled higher country rates were amended over time and are not a current tariff schedule.
- The Supreme Court’s February 2026 decision and the White House’s order ended the specified IEEPA duties, but did not erase every other tariff action.
- The separate section 122 proclamation stated a 10% surcharge through July 24, 2026 unless changed or extended. Its status after that date is not established by the proclamation.
- Modeled price effects and observed price indicators answer different questions: one estimates outcomes under assumptions, while the other records price movements that do not establish causation.
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