On March 4, 2026, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) issued an order directing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to begin removing and refunding tariffs imposed under IEEPA for unliquidated entries. Entries that have already liquidated but remain within the 180-day protest period must be reliquidated by CBP with the IEEPA tariffs removed and refunded.
Importantly, the order applies to all importers, and not only the parties that originally filed suit. The CIT scheduled a hearing for March 6, 2026, to address how CBP will operationalize the refund process as well as the potential treatment of entries that are finally liquidated (liquidated entries outside the 180-day protest period window).
The U.S. Department of Justice is expected to appeal the CIT’s order to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
Given the anticipated appeal and remaining uncertainty around implementation, importers should continue to monitor developments and consult legal counsel regarding options for preserving potential refund rights while the legal and administrative process continues to develop, including protective protests or litigation before the CIT.
Protective protests
Many importers are currently filing protests with CBP with the objective of preserving their right to refunds for IEEPA duties paid. At this time, it’s unclear whether the CIT will require that importers have filed protests to receive refunds, however, some importers are doing so as a precautionary measure.
When considering whether to pursue protective protests, take note of the following:
- Protests must be filed within 180 days of the date of liquidation, which can be tracked in ACE and on CBP’s Liquidation Bulletin.
- Carefully review each entry prior to filing a protest for any other protestable matters (e.g., error correction, valuation, classification, etc.), and if any are found, appropriately address them with the required supporting documentation.
- Tariffs imposed under IEEPA and those under Section 232 are often not applied concurrently, with structured priority guided by an “unstacking” hierarchy. This tariff hierarchy has undergone change, and it remains unknown whether an IEEPA refund could result in the next tariff in the hierarchy being applied.
- Some importers are electing to pursue the “belt and suspenders” approach of filing protective protests, as well filing suit in the CIT. Discuss this approach with your legal counsel as a further protective measure.
Legal action
Some importers are considering filing suit in the CIT. Livingston strongly encourages importers to discuss with their legal counsel whether it’s advisable to file suit in the CIT for IEEPA refunds, and if it should be in conjunction with protective protests.
In terms of procedure and timing, consider the following two avenues available for filing suit in the CIT:
- Importers may file protests with CBP challenging the application of the IEEPA tariffs, and if CBP denies the protest, the importer may then file suit with the CIT within 180 days of the denial.
- Importers may also bring claims directly before the CIT, which must be filed within two years of when the cause of action arises or when the importer suffered injury.
The absence of guidance on the IEEPA refund process, whether from an administrative perspective with CBP or legal with the CIT, creates significant challenges for importers in their evaluation of available options. Importers are strongly advised to engage legal counsel for support as they go through their decision-making process.