Supreme Court Tariff Ruling: Vinyl Stays Duty-Free in the US

On 20 February 2026 the US Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump (heard alongside Trump v. V.O.S. Selections) that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not give the president the power to impose tariffs, a decision reported by Holland & Knight and Covington & Burling. For US-based record buyers, the practical answer six months on is straightforward: vinyl records, along with CDs and cassettes, continue to be treated as duty-exempt "informational materials," exactly as they were before the ruling, but the tariff picture for turntables and other hi-fi equipment has kept shifting.

The ruling itself did not change how records are taxed at the border. What it changed was the legal basis for a much broader set of tariffs on other goods, and what has replaced that basis since.

The ruling: IEEPA tariffs struck down 6-3

The Court held that tariff-setting power belongs to Congress under Article I of the Constitution, and that IEEPA, an emergency-powers law, does not authorise a president to impose them unilaterally. According to the Penn Wharton Budget Model, the tariffs collected under IEEPA had raised about $164.7 billion through January 2026, and the ruling opened the door to as much as $175 billion in potential refunds. IEEPA duties stopped applying to goods entered from 12:00am ET on 24 February 2026, per Covington's analysis.

What replaced IEEPA: the Section 122 surcharge

The administration did not leave a gap. From 24 February 2026, a new tariff took effect under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, a 10% surcharge applied more broadly, which by law can run for a maximum of 150 days, putting its expiry at 24 July 2026. Global Trade Alert's 23 February explainer described a similar measure from 22 February at what it called a 15% rate, a detail that differs from other accounts, so the exact rate quoted varies by source even though 10% is the figure most consistently reported.

Why records themselves stay duty-free

Vinyl records, CDs and cassettes were already classified as exempt "informational materials" under IEEPA, a status US Customs and Border Protection confirmed in 2025, and Section 122 carries a comparable exemption for informational materials, covering printed matter, film, recordings and artworks under tariff code HTS 9903.03.11, according to Global Trade Alert. Music Business Worldwide reported in September 2025 that Discogs had advised sellers to declare shipments specifically as "Informational Materials: phonograph (vinyl) record" to claim the exemption, and that guidance still applies to the current Section 122 regime.

Turntables and hi-fi gear are a different story

Record players, cartridges, speakers and other hi-fi equipment are ordinary consumer goods for tariff purposes, with none of the informational-materials carve-out that protects the records themselves. That means US buyers and sellers of turntables have been exposed to whichever general tariff regime is in force at a given time, first IEEPA duties, then the Section 122 surcharge, and now the measures that followed it. Collectors who order records and gear in the same overseas shipment should expect the two to be treated very differently at customs.

What happens after Section 122's 150 days

Section 122's 150-day window closed on 24 July 2026. On 23 July, the Office of the US Trade Representative announced action in its forced-labour Section 301 investigations; customs consultancy Carra Globe reported that this imposes 10% or 12.5% duties on goods from 60 economies from 24 July 2026, though that specific rate has not been confirmed in a second source. Section 301 forced-labour measures are a narrower, differently targeted tool than the across-the-board Section 122 surcharge, so it is not a like-for-like replacement, and the informational-materials exemption that covers records is not affected either way. Separately, the suspension of the US de minimis exemption, in place since 29 August 2025, was maintained under its own order and continues to apply regardless of the IEEPA ruling.

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US tariff questions sit alongside a different set of charges for buyers in the EU, where a new €3 customs duty now applies to parcels from outside the bloc, and new packaging obligations affect small sellers shipping into Europe. The mechanisms differ, but 2026 has been a year of new paperwork on both sides of the Atlantic for anyone buying or selling records across borders.

Buying records and gear from the US

If you are ordering vinyl into or out of the US, the informational-materials exemption means the record itself should not attract the tariffs aimed at general merchandise, provided it is declared correctly. The same is not true of a turntable, a phono cartridge or a receiver bought in the same transaction, so budget for the possibility of import duty on equipment even when the records travelling alongside it are exempt.

Frequently asked questions

01Are vinyl records subject to US tariffs?

No. Records, CDs and cassettes are classified as exempt 'informational materials' under both the now-struck-down IEEPA tariffs and the Section 122 surcharge that replaced them, a status US Customs and Border Protection confirmed in 2025. Sellers such as Discogs advise declaring shipments specifically as informational materials to claim the exemption.

02What did the Supreme Court rule about tariffs in February 2026?

On 20 February 2026 the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorise the president to impose tariffs. IEEPA duties stopped applying to goods entered from 24 February 2026.

03Do turntables and record players face US import tariffs?

Yes. Unlike records themselves, turntables, cartridges and other hi-fi equipment do not qualify for the informational-materials exemption and are treated as ordinary goods, subject to whichever general tariff regime is in force, including the Section 122 surcharge and the measures that followed it.

Sources

• Supreme Court Strikes Down IEEPA Tariffs: What Importers Need to Know Now — Holland & Knight, 20 February 2026
• IEEPA Tariffs Terminated, Replacement Section 122 Tariffs Take Effect — Covington & Burling, 27 February 2026
• Supreme Court Tariff Ruling: IEEPA Revenue and Potential Refunds — Penn Wharton Budget Model, 20 February 2026
• The Section 122 Exemption Structure, Explained — Global Trade Alert, 23 February 2026
• The Section 122 Tariff: What It Was, What You Can Still Recover, and What Replaced It — Carra Globe, 14 May 2026
• Vinyl records and CDs spared from Donald Trump's new US import tariffs — Music Business Worldwide, 2 September 2025