This week, during a closed-door hearing at the Court of International Trade (CIT), Judge Eaton questioned why no progress has been made on refunding IEEPA tariffs paid in connection with entries beyond the “deemed liquidated” status stage. The Court requested that Customs submit a brief explaining why it should not be required to refund all IEEPA duties collected on all entries, regardless of liquidation status or date of liquidation.
The Court, unusually, has also instructed Rodney S. Scott, Commissioner of Customs, to appear in person on June 9, 2026, to discuss the agency’s plans to comply with the Court’s order to reliquidate all applicable entries without IEEPA duties.
Customs has also been instructed to submit an updated CAPE progress report by June 10, 2026.
Collectively, these developments suggest that the CIT is considering the possibility of ordering the broad refund of all IEEPA duties, including those associated with entries presently excluded from CAPE phase 1.
However, it is also possible the government will respond to these instructions by filing an appeal to the CIT’s original refund order. Any appeal would need to be filed by June 6, 2026.
With so many questions remaining, it is imperative that you continue to take the necessary steps to protect your company’s IEEPA refunds.
Please contact us to discuss the best course of action for your company at this time.
