For U.S. importers, 2026 has quickly become the year of tariff recovery. After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were unlawful, the focus shifted from litigation to one central question: How and when will importers get their money back?
As U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the U.S. Treasury begin issuing IEEPA refunds to importer bank accounts, and the Court of International Trade (CIT) separately questions the legality of Section 122 tariffs, importers are facing a second wave of uncertainty and potentially a second wave of recoverable duties.
IEEPA Refunds Have Begun but Timing is still Unclear
The biggest development is simple: refunds have officially begun.
CBP confirmed that valid Phase One IEEPA refunds are now being processed, with many refunds having already been deposited into importer bank accounts and the balance expected to be issued within 60–90 days of acceptance into the agency’s CAPE refund system.
This IEEPA refund Phase One is limited to certain unliquidated entries and entries within 80 days of liquidation.
We may soon know how and when the rest of the refunds the government owes, known as “Phase Two” IEEPA refunds, will be processed.
On May 27th, the CIT lifted the stay on its order that required CBP to immediately refund the tariffs it owes back to importers.
The CIT further ordered the Commissioner of CBP to appear before the Court on June 9th to explain the delay and to advise when the agency will fully comply with the Court’s order to refund all IEEPA tariffs to importers.
This is good news for importers. The Court is pressuring CBP to issue refunds on all entries.
We’ll have an update on Phase Two entries shortly after the Commissioner appears before the CIT on June 9th.
What Importers Can Expect Next
Since CBP’s CAPE IEEPA refund portal rollout on April 20th for Phase One IEEPA refunds, Treasury has begun issuing ACH payments for entries that had already liquidated when CAPE refunds were filed.
CBP advised the next batch will include unliquidated entries.
These will be liquidated and refunded within roughly 45 days of the importer’s CAPE submission.
More complex entries or entries that CBP wants to review may take a little longer (up to 90 days from CAPE submission).
And entries in suspended, extended or “under review” status will only be refunded when the entry liquidates on its normal schedule.
Millions of Entries Have Entered the Refund Stage
In an update CBP provided to the CIT, it reported that 126,237 CAPE declarations had been submitted as of May 11, of which 86,874 had passed the file validations covering 15,123,221 entries.
As of the same date, 8,338,081 of the accepted entries had been liquidated or reliquidated without IEEPA duties, representing about $35.46 billion in anticipated principal and interest payments to the trade.
Industry estimates suggest total IEEPA refunds could eventually exceed $166 billion to more than 330,000 importers.
What Importers Should Be Doing Right Now
Despite the positive momentum, importers should not assume refunds are automatic. Take these practical steps to protect your refund dollars:
1.) Ensure your ACH Refund Account enrollment is active in ACE, double checking that banking information listed is correct.
2.) Track liquidation dates carefully on entries that did not qualify for this first phase of refunds and preserve your right to a refund through protests.
3.) Track liquidation for CAPE-filed entries if you have any additional changes you need to make through a protest (e.g. section 232 issues) within the 180-day window.
4.) Ensure you’ve checked the Claim Status tab for your CAPE filing. Track down any entries in error status with your broker and CBP at IEEPA[email protected].
5.) Refile CAPE claims for any entries that were rejected, but that you’ve corrected and are ready for refiling. Remember, it can’t hurt to try refiling your claim if you haven’t heard back from CBP about your issue.
6.) Track your refunds using the CBP-recommended CAPE tracking reports in ACE (contact us for a copy of our training guide for these reports).
Be sure you receive the refunds due and investigate any discrepancies between the refund amount paid on each entry and the amount you believe to be due. There are reports that CBP is miscalculating additional duties, especially for 232 tariffs once the IEEPA tariffs are removed.
Pursue any discrepancies at the above email address.
7.) Maintain entry-level documentation for all entries. Be ready if CBP asks for more information about an entry covered under a CAPE claim.
8.) Be prepared for CBP to divert your refunds to any unpaid Customs bills. You can track these through the above-listed ACE refund reports.
9.) Be sure to check that the refund amount you received equals the total refund amount in refund reports.
There are cases where the two amounts don’t match. These should be pursued with an email to the above-listed IEEPA helpdesk.
10.) Begin tracking your section 122 tariffs. No action is necessary yet, but if the 122’s are declared unlawful, the process will likely follow the same cadence as for IEEPA.
11.) Check the notify parties tab to be sure you don’t have any old 4811’s on file that you are otherwise unaware of that could divert your refunds to a third party like your broker. This is quite common especially with entries involving couriers.
12.) Protect your refunds and ACH Refund Account information by revoking ACE access for folks who have left your company or who no longer need access to ACE, including third party brokers and/or advisors.
Why these Steps Matter
Number 2 above is important. Customs legal experts have warned that refund eligibility for older entries that could not be claimed in this first phase may still depend on protests or even legal action.
Remember the scale of this refund process is unprecedented.
One recent analysis noted that CBP must potentially process refunds across roughly 53 million entries.
That will translate into delays, discrepancies, and disputes over eligibility and refund adjustments.
Follow these steps to ensure you stay ahead of the game.
The Next Major Issue: Section 122 Tariffs
While IEEPA refunds are now moving ahead, a second legal front on tariffs has opened.
In May, the CIT ruled the Administration’s 10% tariffs imposed under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 were unlawful.
The Court concluded that the statute’s balance-of-payments authority was improperly used to justify broad global tariffs.
However, unlike the IEEPA litigation, the ruling did not automatically provide universal relief to all importers.
Where Section 122 Tariffs Stand Today
- Section 122 tariffs remain in effect for all importers not covered in the litigation. CBP is still collecting Section 122 duties while the Administration’s legal appeal moves forward.
- More appeals are expected – likely to the Supreme Court again.
- Once again, refund rights may ultimately depend on litigation and protests. Since this ruling did not apply universal relief to all importers, unlike IEEPA, litigation may be necessary for importers to ultimately secure refunds depending on the results of future cases and appeals.
Preparing for Potential Section 122 Refunds
Importers should track liquidation dates for Section 122-impacted entries and protect their refund rights through protests filed within the 180-day protest window.
When the time is right, importers may also need to take legal action.
In general, importers have two years from the date of injury, meaning the date the tariffs were collected, to pursue legal action.
Could Section 122 Refunds Become “IEEPA 2.0”?
Possibly — but not yet.
The IEEPA refund process became possible because three things happened together:
- A definitive Supreme Court ruling that the tariffs were unlawful
- A CIT implementation order for refunds
- A refund mechanism administered by CBP
Section 122 has not reached these milestones. That means importers should view Section 122 refunds as a potential future opportunity but not a guaranteed recovery.
Preparing for What Comes Next
The refund environment is evolving rapidly.
IEEPA refunds are entering the payment stage, and Section 122 tariffs now face growing legal uncertainty.
Importers that prepare early will likely be in the strongest position to protect and recover potential refunds.
Companies that follow the 12 steps outlined in this guide, preserve their procedural rights, and maintain accurate entry data will be better positioned as the situation develops.
If you have not yet filed your CAPE refund claim, or if you need help tracking refunds, managing protests, or preparing for potential Section 122 developments, Dimerco’s trade compliance specialists can help.
Get in touch with a Dimerco trade compliance specialist to request our ACE or IEEPA refund training guides or to schedule a one-on-one consultation.
