TRADE ALERT – IMPORTS
HEADLINE	Amendment of CIT Order on IEEPA Tariff Refunds
DATE	March 23, 2026
AGENCY	Court of International Trade; U.S. Customs and Border Protection
EFFECTIVE DATE	March 20, 2026
SUMMARY	The Court of International Trade (“CIT”) has amended its March 4 Order to clarify that the order includes all duties imposed under IEEPA, including those on Brazil and India. No resolution was reached on reliquidation of entries for which liquidation has become final or for those importers who do not participate in Customs and Border Protection’s (“CBP”) future refund procedure.   The CIT emphasized that importers “should be aware” of the protest remedies available under 19 U.S.C. § 1514 (Protest against decisions of Customs Service).   The CIT did not address how this message may conflict with the statement of the CIT in AGS Co. Auto. Sols. v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in which the court had stated that the filing of a protest would be futile and that “[a]s long as this court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1581(i), the court can provide remedial relief.” It is possible that the difference between the two orders may be due to the fact that the IEEPA tariffs have now been determined to be unlawful and that this changes whether CBP can rule on a protest. The reading of these two decisions together further supports the conclusion that importers should file a case at the Court of International Trade and file protests on liquidated entries.   Action Items for Importers:   1. Monitor entries for liquidation and protest deadlines. 2. File protests with CBP before each entry’s protest deadline (180 days after liquidation). 3. Consider filing an action at the CIT.
BACKGROUND	On December 15, 2025, the Court of International Trade issued an Opinion and Order in the case of AGS Co. Auto. Sols. v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in which it stated “While the Executive Orders are extant, there is no Customs decision of a type that can be made and protested; hence no § 1514 finality of liquidation occurs. As long as this court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1581(i), the court can provide remedial relief, as the Government here acknowledges.” This Opinion and Order suggest that one must have a case before the CIT to receive a refund and that protest is unnecessary.   On February 20, 2026, the President revoked the Executive Orders that directed the imposition of the IEEPA tariffs.   On March 4, 2026, the CIT issued an order (amended March 5, 2026) directing CBP to liquidate all unliquidated entries without IEEPA duties. The CIT also ordered that all entries for which liquidation is not final to be reliquidated with a refund of the IEEPA duties.   On March 6, 2026, the CIT suspended the March 4 order “to the extent that it directs immediate compliance.” CBP continues to provide updates on the “CAPE” refund process proposed on March 6.
DETAILS	On March 20, 2026, the CIT and the parties in Atmus Filtration, Inc. v. United States held a conference to discuss the progress of CBP’s refund system, CAPE.   Following the conference, the CIT amended its order of March 4 (as amended March 5) to explicitly cover all duties imposed by the Executive Orders promulgated under IEEPA, including those imposed on imports from Brazil and India. This expansion clarifies that all IEEPA duties are subject to refund. The court also clarified that the order does not address issues concerning de minimis.   Additionally, the parties discussed refund questions relating to entries deemed liquidated, reliquidation of entries for which liquidation has become final, and refunds to importers who do not take advantage of the proposed CAPE process.   The CIT March 20 order states that no resolution was reached with respect to the reliquidation of entries for which liquidation has become final. The CIT noted that importers “should be aware” of the remedies available under 19 U.S.C. § 1514, which provides for protests against decisions made by CBP.   While the March 20 order notes that CAPE development continues to progress, it is increasingly clear that CBP does not have a plan in place as part of the CAPE process to address entries with IEEPA duties for which liquidation is final. Our advice remains that importers must continue to file protests prior to the protest deadline in order to protect their ability to receive refunds. However, importers may want to delay filing protests until near the end of the protest period to allow the CIT and CBP to continue to provide additional information.    In keeping with the Order in AGS Co. Auto. Sols. v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, however, CBP is maintaining the position that only those who have a case before the CIT may be entitled to a refund. Therefore, we maintain that one must also file a case at the CIT to protect one’s interest.
BASIS	International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) (50 U.S.C. § 1701 et seq.)
CITE	CIT Order (March 20, 2026): Atmus Filtration, Inc. v. United States, Court No. 26-01259 (Ct. Int’l Trade Mar. 20, 2026).   CIT Order (March 5, 2026): Atmus Filtration, Inc. v. United States, Court No. 26-01259 (Ct. Int’l Trade Mar. 5, 2026).   CIT Order (December 15, 2025): AGS Co. Auto. Sols. v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Court No. 25-00255 (Ct. Int’l Trade Dec. 15, 2025).

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