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On February 20, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled certain tariffs under IEEPA unlawful.
On March 4, 2026, the Court of International Trade issued an order directing CBP to liquidate all unliquidated entries without applying IEEPA duties. The order also requires CBP to reliquidate any entries that have already liquidated but are not yet final, and CBP generally has 90 days to reopen and reset a liquidation.
The ruling is expected to be appealed and may ultimately return to the Supreme Court. This order could signal the possibility of automatic refunds for unliquidated entries, however the situation remains unsettled and far from final.
While the process for obtaining potential refunds is still unknown, it’s critical for importers to take proactive steps now to potentially preserve their refund rights.
In collaboration with outside counsel, we recommend the following approach to importers:
1. CONSULT AN ATTORNEY: Highly recommended
Engage experienced trade counsel by March 17. 2026. If needed, Willson can provide you with referrals. The best course of action to preserve potential rights to refunds and/or to obtain refunds as efficiently as possible, would be to a file a Summons/Complaint under 28 U.S.C. §1581(i) in the CIT. Such an action would encompass liquidated and unliquidated entries.
We recommend that a decision to file such an action be made before March 17, 2026, which is 25 days after the date that the Supreme Court (“SCT”) issued its decision. This is the deadline on which the Government’s ability to seek rehearing expires and the decision becomes final. Importers will need to retain counsel for filing.
2. MONITOR LIQUIDATION & CONSIDER PROTESTING REFUND RIGHTS: Recommended
Protests must be filed within 180 days of the date of liquidation. Importers should be actively monitoring ACE and the CBP electronic “Liquidation Bulletin,” the Official Notice of Extension, Suspension and Liquidation, to ensure that it timely protests any liquidations that are nearing the 180-day deadline. (https://trade.cbp.dhs.gov/ace/liquidation/LBNotice/) If CBP were to deny a protest, that denial could be challenged administratively and/or challenged in court under 28 U.S.C. §1581(a).
OTHER IMPORTANT ITEMS:
- ESTABLISH AN ACE ACCOUNT AND COMPLETE ACH REFUND ENROLLMENT.
- FOR UNLIQUIDATED ENTRIES, WE DO NOT RECOMMEND FILING POST SUMMARY CORRECTIONS (PSCs) AT THIS TIME. CBP IS CURRENTLY REJECTING PSCs THAT SEEK REFUNDS OF IEEPA DUTIES, THIS POSITION MAY CHANGE PENDING UPCOMING COURT DIRECTION REGARDING POTENTIAL REFUND PROCEDURES.
This situation remains fluid, and Willson International will keep you informed of any ongoing developments. For any information please contact: transitionteamus@willsonintl.com
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