Above the Fold: Supply Chain Logistics News (January 9, 2026)

By Adrian Gonzalez

Happy 2026!

I hope you had a fun and relaxing holiday, and that the new year is off to a great start for you.

As for me, I’m beginning 2026 with a boot and crutches. While I was up in Vermont with my family last week, a snow leopard appeared out of nowhere. I wrestled with it to protect my wife and kids, who were able to run back inside the house, but in the tussle with the leopard, I broke my fibula at the ankle.

(Rumors that I actually broke my left ankle when I slipped on the icy driveway are just not true. Also, no snow leopards were harmed in writing the previous paragraph).

So, I’ll be hobbling along for another 5 weeks. No cycling, no dancing, no going for long walks outside. Going through the simple motions of the day — like going upstairs to the bedroom, or getting my cup of coffee from the kitchen to the dining room while on crutches — is challenging enough.

Okay, enough about my fractured fibula. Let’s move on to the supply chain and logistics news that caught my attention this week.

Decision Day on Trump Tariffs?

The biggest news this week may or may not happen this morning: the Supreme Court is scheduled to convene this morning and they may or may not issue a ruling on the legality of the Trump tariffs. See my post from last month, “The Supreme Court, Tariffs, And The Turbulent Road Ahead,” for the backstory, including some insights from our Indago supply chain research community.

As reported by Reuters, “Company executives, customs brokers and trade lawyers are bracing for a Supreme Court ruling on the legality of President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs — and a potential fight over obtaining perhaps $150 billion in refunds from the U.S. government for duties already paid by importers if he loses.”

If the Supreme Court issues a ruling today, you’ll certainly hear about it because your LinkedIn feed and email inbox will undoubtedly be filled with countless commentary. Let’s see what happens.

Speaking of refunds, as Liz Young and Paul Berger reported in the Wall Street Journal, “Customs and Border Protection on [January 6th] said it would introduce an all-electronic refund process in February that would make it quicker and easier to claim back payments, part of a plan across the federal government to eliminate paper payments. The Treasury Department will stop issuing paper checks for refunds as of Feb. 6, except in select cases.”

Quicker and easier refunds, however, likely won’t apply to the Trump tariffs, specifically those imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Here’s an excerpt from the WSJ article:

Cindy Allen, a former Customs official, said the last time a court ordered the government to process a massive refund — to U.S. exporters for a harbor maintenance fee in the late 1990s — the process took years.

“Importers are going to have to go through some sort of due-diligence process to say: ‘This is what I paid; this is what I am owed,’ and file that proactively with Customs,” said Allen, chief executive of Trade Force Multiplier, a trade and customs consulting firm. Then Customs officials would need to audit the claims before processing a refund.

If you haven’t been keeping good records and documentation all along in anticipation of seeking a refund for IEEPA tariffs, you’re already so far behind, like me walking on crutches.

And with that, I’m out of time today. Have a meaningful weekend!

Song of the Week: “Bones” by The Killers