US Customs and Border Protection pays $20bn and schedules $65bn IEEPA tariff refunds after Supreme Court strikes down tariffs
Importers that paid IEEPA tariffs must submit CAPE refund claims or file protests within statutory deadlines to recover duties; treasury and tax teams must process $85bn in refunds plus interest
Change
On 27 May 2026, CBP reported importers have received $20bn in IEEPA tariff refunds with about $65bn more scheduled, following the Supreme Court's 20 February 2026 ruling in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump that IEEPA does not authorise tariffs. Refunds run through CBP's CAPE module for non-final entries; already-liquidated entries require an administrative protest within 180 days under 19 USC 1514.
Why it matters
The Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling (final 17 March 2026) invalidated all IEEPA tariffs nationwide, not only for named plaintiffs. The CIT directed CBP to liquidate or reliquidate non-final entries without IEEPA duties, and CBP built the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) module in ACE for importers of record or brokers to submit refund declarations by CSV. Refunds are paid to the importer of record with interest (19 CFR 24.36). For entries already liquidated with IEEPA duties included, importers may need to file an administrative protest within 180 days of the liquidation date under 19 USC 1514 to preserve refund rights. The relief is not the end of tariff exposure: hours after the ruling the administration imposed worldwide 10% tariffs under Section 122 of the Trade Act 1974; the CIT struck those down in May 2026, but refund rights there are limited to named plaintiffs, the administration has appealed, and Section 122 tariffs continue to be collected from other importers pending litigation.
Implications
- — Import compliance and customs-brokerage teams at importers that paid IEEPA tariffs must submit CAPE refund declarations through CBP's ACE portal for non-final entries, and file an administrative protest within 180 days of liquidation under 19 USC 1514 for entries already liquidated — missing the protest window on a liquidated entry forfeits the refund right despite the tariffs being ruled unlawful.
- — Trade counsel and customs teams must triage every IEEPA-tariff entry by liquidation status and date now — non-final entries flow through CAPE automatically on reliquidation, but liquidated entries are time-barred without a timely protest, so the entry inventory must be reviewed against the 180-day clock immediately.
- — Corporate treasury teams at importers, retailers, and manufacturers must incorporate incoming CBP refund disbursements plus statutory interest into cashflow forecasts and working-capital plans — refunds are arriving in tranches ($20bn paid, ~$65bn scheduled) over an uncertain timeline, so liquidity planning cannot assume lump-sum receipt.
See full brief
Use 1 free preview to unlock implications, who’s affected, what to watch, and Clarify for this brief.
2 free previews left this month · Resets 1 Jun
Source