The U.S. Court of International Trade has instructed CBP to remove IEEPA tariffs from unliquidated entries and initiate a nationwide refund process for eligible importers following the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that IEEPA does not authorise tariffs.

In February 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the IEEPA does not authorize the imposition of tariffs, invalidating tariffs imposed under that statute. Following that ruling, refund-related litigation returned to the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT).

On March 4th, 2026, CIT issued a directive to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to initiate a comprehensive refund process for importers. CBP must liquidate all unliquidated entries without any IEEPA duties that were paid and reliquidate all liquidated entries that are still within the protest period (180-days) and remove the IEEPA tariffs. This relief applies to all importers of record, regardless of whether they were original parties to the case. CBP is scheduled to brief the CIT on March 6th regarding the technical next steps for implementing the combined IEEPA and refund rulings.

What was not addressed:

The order does not explicitly address entries that are liquidated and outside the 180‑day protest window. The court has scheduled further proceedings on March 6th to discuss implementation issues and the treatment of these entries, and additional guidance may follow.

What this means for you:

• As the importer of record, confirm you have your ACE and ACH account active and correctly configured to receive refunds.
• Review your entries with IEEPA duties and confirm whether those entries are unliquidated or liquidated but not final.
• CBP has indicated that refunds may not be immediate, as the agency must ensure compliance with other applicable duties and fees (e.g., Section 301, Section 232, antidumping/countervailing duties).
• CBP has not yet published timing or operational steps for how it will complete liquidation, reliquidation, and issue any resulting refunds or credits.
• There is no automatic entitlement to refunds. Refunds will depend on individual entry circumstances (such as entry status, protests, and statutory deadlines). We are taking proactive steps to ensure you are well placed to receive refunds should your entries become eligible and will be in touch regarding the next steps.

The CIT’s order represents a critical development for U.S. importers, opening the door to substantial refunds of IEEPA tariffs on a nationwide basis. While questions remain regarding timing and final implementation, the ruling clearly establishes that refund eligibility is not limited to litigants and applies broadly to all qualifying entries.

On March 5th, 2026, 24 U.S. States filed suit against the Trump administration’s recently imposed Section 122 tariffs to the Court of International Trade. This does not constitute any removal of Section 122 tariffs.

We will continue to monitor developments closely and share updates here as soon as formal agency guidance becomes available. If you have questions about how this may affect your shipments or duty exposure, please contact your Woodland Group representative.