Court of International Trade Pauses IEEPA Refunds

JD Supra Trade Law

Filed March 6th, 2026

Detected March 11th, 2026

Summary

The U.S. Court of International Trade has paused the immediate refund of duties imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) while leaving the underlying obligation to refund intact. This decision acknowledges practical limitations faced by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in processing an estimated $166 billion in refunds for over 330,000 importers.

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What changed

The U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) issued an order on March 6, 2026, pausing the immediate execution of its prior directive requiring U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to refund all duties imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). This pause, stemming from the case Atmus Filtration Inc. v. United States, acknowledges CBP's declaration that its systems cannot readily process the estimated $166 billion in refunds for 53 million entries affecting over 330,000 importers without significant risk of error. While the immediate refund order is suspended, the court explicitly stated that the underlying obligation to unwind these IEEPA duties remains in place.

For importers, this means refunds are still expected, but the timeline for receiving them is uncertain as CBP works to develop new functionality within its Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) system, aiming for completion in approximately 45 days. Importers are advised to complete CBP's required electronic refund registration process promptly to avoid further delays and should continue to monitor the evolving refund process. The court's decision provides CBP with breathing room to implement a more efficient refund mechanism while preserving importers' entitlement to relief.

What to do next

Complete CBP's required electronic refund registration process
Monitor the development of CBP's automated refund process

Source document (simplified)

March 10, 2026

Court of International Trade Pauses Immediate IEEPA Refunds While Leaving Sweeping Repayment Order Intact

Hector Ibarra, Zhe Liu, Tiffany Rowe Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP + Follow Contact LinkedIn Facebook X Send Embed The U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) has paused — though not withdrawn — a sweeping order requiring U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to refund all duties imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The pause, issued March 6, 2026, reflects the court’s acknowledgement of the practical limits on CBP’s ability to execute immediate refunds. Nonetheless, the court’s core conclusion has not changed: IEEPA duties were unlawful and must ultimately be unwound.

The March 6 order followed an extraordinary directive issued just two days earlier. On March 4, CIT Judge Richard K. Eaton ordered CBP to liquidate all unliquidated entries and reliquidate any liquidated entries that are not yet final, effectively requiring refunds to every importer whose entries were assessed IEEPA tariffs. The case at issue (Atmus Filtration Inc. v. United States) was filed after the Supreme Court’s decision last month in Learning Resources Inc. v. Trump, seeking a preliminary injunction preventing further collection of IEEPA tariffs by CBP and an immediate refund of the tariffs paid.

The government responded to the March 4 order arguing that immediate compliance was not possible. In a March 6 declaration, CBP detailed the unprecedented scale of the task: it would require refunds paid by more than 330,000 importers, affecting 53 million entries, resulting in the return of roughly $166 billion. CBP argued that its Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) system cannot readily identify IEEPA-duty entries or halt weekly liquidations without risking errors in other trade remedies. CBP’s declaration estimates that processing refunds manually would require more than 4 million hours to complete the refund process for all entries with IEEPA duties. CBP proposed that the government develop new functionality within the ACE system to process IEEPA duty refunds in a more efficient manner. CBP is “making all possible efforts” to have the new functionality ready for use in 45 days.

Judge Eaton’s March 6 order suspends the prior directive but only “to the extent that it directs immediate compliance,” expressly leaving the underlying refund obligation in place. The court set no firm deadline, effectively granting CBP limited breathing room to develop an automated refund process while preserving importers’ entitlement to relief.

For importers, the takeaway is straightforward even if the timeline is not: refunds of IEEPA duties are coming. But the uncertainty regarding when CBP will be in a position to process the refunds — and when refunds will actually be received — remains. Importers should ensure they have completed CBP’s required electronic refund registration process as soon as possible to avoid additional delays in refund processing and continue to monitor the mechanics of the refund process as they take shape.

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DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.
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Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP Contact + Follow Hector Ibarra + Follow Zhe Liu + Follow Tiffany Rowe + Follow more less

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