The IEEPA Refund Wave: Navigating changes

IEEPA Refund Wave: Navigating changes

Last updated: March 3, 2026

The trade community is standing at the precipice of what could be the largest duty recovery event in U.S. customs history. Following the Supreme Court's landmark February 20, 2026 ruling in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, duties collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) have been declared statutorily unauthorized. For customs brokers, this is both a legal victory and a high-stakes operational challenge. The transition from "duty collection" to "mass recovery" will test the limits of brokerage infrastructure by requiring a level of data precision that traditional processes simply weren't built to handle.

From Emergency Powers to Statutory Limits: What the Court Actually Held

For the last year, the trade landscape was dominated by IEEPA-based tariffs applied as broad-scale economic tools. The ruling does not hold that the President can never levy tariffs, only that this power doesn’t come from IEEPA. The ruling invalidated IEEPA tariffs applied to goods from Mexico, Canada, and China (the "Trafficking Tariffs"), as well as the global baseline "reciprocal" duties imposed in April 2025. The Court did not order the Trump Administration to issue refunds or otherwise address a path to refunds, leaving this to the courts below.

The administration responded the same day. President Trump issued an Executive Order revoking the IEEPA tariffs, but the EO didn’t address refunds. Simultaneously, Trump issued a proclamation under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 imposing a 10% temporary import surcharge on all countries, effective February 24, 2026. That rate applies until July 24, 2026, unless modified or extended by Congress.

Where the Refund Fight Stands Today

As of March 3, 2026, the refund question has moved decisively into the courts. Here is where things stand:

The Federal Circuit clears the path (March 2, 2026)

On March 2, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denied the government's request for a delay of up to four months and remanded V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump immediately back to the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT). 

Over 2,000 lawsuits already filed at the CIT

More than 2,000 importers, from small businesses like Learning Resources to major multinationals including FedEx, Costco, Revlon, and Reebok, have already filed complaints at the CIT seeking refunds. As of December 2025, CBP had collected approximately $129 billion to $175 billion in IEEPA duties across more than 34 million entries from over 301,000 importers of record.

The administration stipulated to refunds 

In January 2026, the administration stipulated that it would refund IEEPA tariffs for all current and future similarly situated plaintiffs following a "final and unappealable decision" ordering the government to do so. However, this is not an unconditional commitment: President Trump has warned the process could involve years of litigation, and the administration has not voluntarily established a refund mechanism at CBP.

A Race Against the Liquidation Clock

• The 180-Day Protest Window: For entries that have already liquidated, brokers must file administrative protests under 19 U.S.C. § 1514.

• The 314-Day PSC Deadline: Unliquidated entries require Post-Summary Corrections (PSCs), which must be filed at least 15 days before the scheduled liquidation date. PSC availability and timing will ultimately depend on CBP implementation guidance, which has not yet been issued.

• The Documentation Gap: CBP is increasingly scrutinizing bulk claims. Brokers must ensure that every claim is backed by a perfect match between the CBP Form 7501 and the underlying commercial invoices.

In this environment, the standard brokerage workflow of manually pulling ACE reports and filling out spreadsheets is a liability. ACE has continued liquidating previously filed entries with assessed IEEPA tariffs even after the Supreme Court's decision.

How AI is Rewriting the Recovery Playbook

As the volume of filings surges, the industry is shifting toward automation. AI is becoming the engine behind the most successful recovery strategies currently being deployed.

1. High-Velocity ACE Auditing

AI agents can process years of ACE (Automated Commercial Environment) data in seconds and instantly isolate every entry containing an IEEPA-impacted HTS code, calculate the potential refund amount (including interest), flag entries within 30 days of their liquidation date, and identify which entries have already liquidated post-ruling.

2. Intelligent Document processing

The most labor-intensive part of a protest is the “reason for claim." AI-driven platforms can auto-generate precise legal justifications tailored to the Learning Resources ruling, ensuring consistency across a broker's entire client portfolio.

3. Proactive Compliance Monitoring

With the pivot to Section 122 and anticipated expansions of Sections 232 and 301, the HTSUS is in a state of sustained flux. The Section 122 surcharge expires July 24, 2026. AI monitoring tools allow brokers to stay ahead of shifts by automatically updating internal systems the moment a new CSMS notice is issued.

Moving Forward

The refund pathway remains contested with the administration not issuing refunds automatically, and the CIT process could take years. 

The goal is to transition from reactive to a proactive, tech-enabled advisory role. By leveraging automation, brokers can provide the high-level strategic guidance their clients need during this period of volatility, rather than being buried in the administrative details of individual entries.

The trade landscape is changing quickly, and we are committed to helping you leverage the best of AI to navigate these complexities. If you want to know how our AI-driven auditing and filing tools can help you, book a demo to see them in action.