CBP Proposes IEEPA Duty Refund Process
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On February 20, 2026, Dickinson Wright reported the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, in which the Supreme Court held that the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA) does not grant the President authority to impose tariffs.
Two weeks after the Supreme Court’s decision, the U.S. Court of International Trade (“CIT”), on March 4, 2026, issued an order (the “CIT Order”) in Atmus Filtration, Inc. v. United States, directing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) to refund duties imposed under IEEPA. The CIT Order specifies that:
“with respect to any and all unliquidated entries that were entered subject to the IEEPA duties imposed by the Executive Orders considered by the Supreme Court in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, 2026 WL 477534 (U.S. Feb. 20, 2026), U.S. Customs and Border Protection is hereby directed to liquidate those entries without regard to the IEEPA duties. Any liquidated entries for which liquidation is not final shall be reliquidated without regard to those duties.”
This very blunt order effectively directed CBP to begin the refund process automatically, without the need for importers to file any documentation with CBP or the CIT on the vast majority of over-paid duties.
In response to the CIT Order, on March 6, 2026, Brandon Lord, Executive Director of the Trade Programs Directorate, Office of Trade at CBP, submitted a declaration (the “CBP Declaration”) to the CIT explaining that CBP currently lacks the operational capability to immediately process the unprecedented and massive volume of IEEPA refunds. These stunning, but not surprising admissions, were a candid acknowledgement that CBP is not currently equipped to process the $166 billion dollars collected and due to be refunded with interest. According to Mr. Lord’s Declaration, CBP is in the process of developing new functionality within the Automated Commercial Environment (“ACE”) to administer IEEPA duty refunds and is “making all possible efforts” to have the system ready within approximately 45 days.
The CBP Declaration highlights the unprecedented scope of the issue. As of March 4, 2026:
- More than 330,000 importers have paid IEEPA duties.
- Over 53 million entries include IEEPA duties.
- Approximately 20.1 million entries remain unliquidated.
- CBP has collected approximately $166 billion in IEEPA duties and duty deposits.
The CBP Declaration explains that the proposed new system in ACE is necessary because of the massive and unprecedented volume of refunds that would need to be processed. Specifically, the process proposed by CBP would include the following steps in seeking IEEPA tariff refunds:
- The importer files a declaration in ACE that includes a list of entries on which IEEPA duties were paid.
- ACE runs a series of validations on each entry within the declaration and automatically recalculates the duty owed without the IEEPA tariffs (with applicable interest).
- CBP verifies the declaration and processes refunds as soon as practicable.
- ACE automatically finalizes (liquidates or reliquidates) the entries.
- ACE automatically aggregates the refunds with interest by importer and liquidation date.
- CBP certifies the refunds.
- The Department of the Treasury issues IEEPA refunds electronically.
CBP also noted that beginning February 6, 2026, CBP will issue all refunds electronically via Automated Clearing House (ACH), subject to limited exceptions. The CBP Declaration states that many importers have not yet completed the necessary registration steps to receive electronic refunds, which may create additional delays in the refund process. We encourage importers that paid IEEPA duties to ensure that they are properly enrolled in CBP’s electronic refund system. Importers may also wish to begin identifying entries on which IEEPA duties were paid in anticipation of potential refund filings once the system becomes available, if the court accepts CBP’s requests.
In the meantime, Dickinson Wright will continue to monitor the cases at the CIT and, specifically, whether the court entertains CBP’s request to implement a process in ACE that requires importers to submit their claims for refunds of IEEPA tariffs.
