New developments this week in the ongoing IEEPA tariff refund process highlight that filing a lawsuit with the Court of International Trade remains the surest, quickest way to obtain such refunds, particularly for importers of record with a substantial potential refund amount.
On Oct. 8 Judge Eaton at the CIT granted class certification in the lead IEEPA tariff litigation for “all importers of record who paid [IEEPA tariffs] … between February 1, 2025, and February 19, 2026, excluding any entity that has separately filed an action seeking to recover IEEPA duty payments.”
If this decision survives appeal, it could make it unnecessary for IORs to file individual lawsuits to obtain IEEPA tariff refunds, which would be particularly good news for smaller IORs with smaller potential refund amounts. However, the decision is likely to be appealed, and the federal government has until Nov. 23 to do so. If the decision is upheld, it could then take a substantial amount of time before it is finalized and yet another refund process is established. In addition, those falling outside the definition of the class – e.g., non-importers of record like sureties – may still need to file individual lawsuits to obtain refunds.
Separately, U.S. Customs and Border Protection began on Oct. 6 processing IEEPA tariff refunds for finally liquidated entries (i.e., those more than 80 days liquidated) under Phase 3 of its CAPE system. Phase 3 is available for IORs that filed suit by July 30, 2026, and should be released soon for IORs that sued later. The court continues to enter reliquidation orders in these individual cases, and the government will not appeal those orders.
As a result, STR continues to recommend that IORs with entries liquidated beyond 80 days file a lawsuit now to take advantage of the Phase 3 process at this time. Companies with less than $30,000 in refund exposure may consider waiting to see what happens in the courts with respect to class certification, but filing suit now should result in a quicker refund of IEEPA tariffs.
Importers can follow the Phase 3 process even for entries covered by a protest. Once an importer receives a reliquidation order from the CIT and confirms its CAPE Phase 3 eligibility, protests can easily be withdrawn so the CAPE declaration may proceed. (However, protests that cover an issue other than IEEPA tariffs should not be withdrawn unless the importer is willing to waive that issue and any potential refund for it.)
For assistance filing your individual lawsuit, or with other options to preserve your right to IEEPA tariff refunds, contact us for more information.
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