As the U.S. Supreme Court reviews the lawsuits challenging President Donald Trump’s IEEPA fentanyl and reciprocal tariffs, U.S. importers should take steps now to preserve their legal right to recover IEEPA duties paid if the Supreme Court rules that the tariffs are invalid.
In August 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit affirmed the U.S. Court of International Trade’s (CIT) earlier decision that President Trump’s IEEPA tariffs were illegal. The Department of Justice appealed the Court of Appeals’ decision to the Supreme Court, which heard arguments on Nov. 5. A final decision is expected in late 2025 or early 2026.
If the Supreme Court agrees with the lower courts and rules that the IEEPA tariffs are illegal, the IEEPA tariffs would be revoked and U.S. importers could be eligible for refunds of IEEPA tariffs paid since February 2025. However, refunds are not automatic under U.S. Customs law, and the Supreme Court’s decision may not directly address how refunds should work. Consequently, importers should start preparing now in case the Supreme Court’s ruling opens the door for recovering IEEPA tariff payments.
IEEPA Tariff Refund Process
At this point, it is unclear what refund process would apply or whether refunds will be handled by the courts or by CBP.
The courts could create a special refund process that requires new filings or complaints. Alternatively, the courts could tell importers to use the normal CBP process, which has strict deadlines. Specifically, importers may be required either to: (one) file post-summary corrections of “unliquidated” entries, or (two) file protests for “liquidated” entries within 180 days of liquidation. “Liquidation” is CBP’s final calculation of duties owed, which usually occurs approximately 314 days after entry but can happen sooner.
To prepare for the possibility of refunds, importers should closely track the liquidation status of all entries for which they paid IEEPA tariffs. Knowing whether each entry is still unliquidated or already liquidated is now critical.
Once an entry liquidates, the importer must file a formal protest within 180 days to protect the right to a refund. The 180-day deadline is a strict statutory deadline. If the deadline passes, the importer permanently loses the ability to recover the tariffs for that entry. No extension of the 180 days is possible.
Finally, in addition to monitoring liquidation status, importers should begin gathering the records they will need if refunds become available. This includes:
- Pulling all import data from ACE (Automated Commercial Environment), the online CBP system that stores entry information and duty payment records, for every entry that paid IEEPA duties.
- Gathering complete entry packets for all affected entries and proof of duty payments.
For entries that have already been liquidated and are within the 180-day window, importers can file protests even before the Supreme Court decision is issued and can supplement the protests after the decision.
Besides filing protests with CBP post-liquidation, importers may consider filing an appeal in federal court for refunds of IEEPA tariffs collected. However, questions still remain as to the appropriate venue and jurisdiction for such appeals. Notably, the CIT held that it has exclusive jurisdiction to hear claims challenging the IEEPA tariffs under Section 1581(i) of Title 28, the court’s “residual jurisdiction.”
This ruling was subsequently upheld by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Nonetheless, arguments made at the Supreme Court may impact the jurisdictional question as some parties challenged whether IEEPA grants the President the authority to implement tariffs altogether — an issue which could impact whether the CIT’s exclusive jurisdiction is appropriate.
