If you’ve been paying “reciprocal tariffs” on imports since early 2025, the Supreme Court just ruled those charges were unlawful. A federal judge has ordered refunds. CBP says it can’t comply — yet. And importers are still getting billed.
This is a mess. But it’s a manageable mess if you move quickly and document everything.
Here’s what happened, where things stand, and what you should be doing right now.
What Were the IEEPA Tariffs?
The International Emergency Economic Powers Act — IEEPA — is a law that gives the president broad authority to regulate international commerce during a declared national emergency. The Trump administration used it to impose what it called “reciprocal tariffs” on imports from dozens of countries, framing trade deficits as a national security emergency.
These tariffs stacked on top of existing duties across thousands of HTS codes. For importers bringing in vehicles, parts, electronics, steel, consumer goods — the hit was real. Some entries saw effective duty rates jump by double digits overnight.
Importers paid. They had to. CBP doesn’t let you hold cargo over a tariff dispute. You pay, clear the goods, and fight it out later through the protest process.
What the Supreme Court Ruled
The Court struck down the IEEPA-based reciprocal tariffs. The ruling found that using IEEPA to impose sweeping, non-emergency trade policy exceeded the president’s statutory authority. Trade deficits, the Court effectively said, aren’t the kind of emergency IEEPA was designed to address.
The White House has since terminated the IEEPA-based tariff orders in response to the ruling. That’s the right outcome — but it doesn’t automatically put money back in importers’ pockets.
The Refund Situation Is Complicated
A federal judge ordered that importers are entitled to refunds on tariffs paid under the now-invalidated orders. That sounds straightforward. It isn’t.
On March 6, 2026, CBP told the court directly: it cannot comply with the refund order. The agency simply doesn’t have a system in place to process refunds at the scale we’re talking about. Estimates on the total tariff exposure run into the hundreds of billions of dollars.
The government says a refund processing system will be ready in 45 days. That’s an optimistic timeline for a bureaucracy that took months to build the tariff collection infrastructure in the first place.
In the meantime, importers are still being charged. Entries are still being liquidated with these tariff rates applied. That matters because once an entry liquidates — that’s CBP’s term for finalizing the duty assessment — you have a strict 180-day window to file a protest. Miss it, and your refund claim may be gone.
What Importers Should Do Right Now
Don’t wait for CBP’s 45-day system to arrive. The entries you filed over the past year won’t wait for you. Here’s where to start:
1. Pull your entry records
Every import entry you filed since the IEEPA tariffs went into effect is a potential refund candidate. You need the entry numbers, HTS classifications, duty amounts paid, and liquidation dates for each one. If your broker filed on your behalf, request a complete entry history now.
2. Identify which entries are still within protest window
The 180-day protest clock runs from the date of liquidation, not the date of import. Some of your older entries may already be closed out — but entries from the past six months almost certainly aren’t. A licensed customs broker can pull liquidation dates and flag which entries are still actionable.
3. Gather your commercial documentation
Refund claims need to be supported. For each entry, you’ll want: commercial invoices, bills of lading, packing lists, and proof of duty payment. If those documents are spread across email threads and filing cabinets, start consolidating them now.
4. Don’t file a protest without help
A CBP protest is a formal legal filing. An error in the claim — wrong entry number, wrong duty type cited, missing documentation — gives CBP grounds to deny it. With stakes this high, you don’t want to DIY this. Work with a licensed customs broker who knows protest procedure.
5. Watch the liquidation calendar going forward
If you’re still importing goods that were subject to IEEPA tariffs, those entries may still be liquidating with the old rates applied. You’ll want those flagged immediately for protest eligibility.
What AWIS Can Do for You
Always International Customs House Brokerage is a licensed customs house brokerage with direct ABI (Automated Broker Interface) access to CBP’s systems. Our team can pull your entry history, identify refund-eligible entries, verify liquidation status, and prepare the documentation needed to file protests correctly.
We handle commercial import clearances across a wide range of commodities — vehicles, vehicle parts, general merchandise — and we know the protest process. We’re not learning this on the fly.
Bobby Sanders, our licensed customs broker, has spent his career working CBP procedures. When the refund system goes live, we’ll be ready to file. Until then, we’re building the entry-level documentation packages now so our clients aren’t scrambling.
If you’ve been paying IEEPA tariffs on your imports, the question isn’t whether you should pursue a refund. The question is whether you have the documentation and filing infrastructure in place when the window is open.
We can answer that question for you.
The Bottom Line
The Supreme Court got it right. These tariffs were unlawfully imposed, importers paid them under duress, and they’re entitled to refunds. The refund logistics are messy right now — CBP is behind, the system isn’t built yet, and the clock is running on protest windows.
That’s the situation. What you do with it is up to you.
If you want a clear-eyed assessment of your refund exposure, contact the team at AWIS. We’ll review your entry history, identify which entries qualify, and put a filing plan together before the 45-day window closes.
Contact us at awis.us to schedule your IEEPA tariff refund eligibility review.
Always International Customs House Brokerage (AWIS) is a licensed U.S. customs house brokerage. Nothing in this article constitutes legal advice. For entry-specific questions, consult a licensed customs broker or trade attorney.