In a July 15 order, U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) Judge Richard K. Eaton announced that the court will enter an order that directs U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to reliquidate certain finally liquidated entries to process refunds of duties paid under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), in connection with the expected launch of Phase 3 of the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE).

Why The Order Is Important

CBP developed the CAPE system in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court in February striking down most of the tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump under the IEEPA and the CIT declaration that all IEEPA duties collected must be returned.

Under CAPE Phases 1 and 2, only unliquidated and recently liquidated entries were eligible for refund requests. CAPE Phase 3 is expected to handle more than $11 billion in duties on finally liquidated entries not previously eligible for IEEPA refunds. Importers should note that CAPE Phase 3 is not expected to automatically pay refunds without a court order.

The CIT has not yet issued any reliquidation orders, and likely will not do so until Phase 3 is launched. And while the original stay in IEEPA refunds cases has been lifted by an administrative order dated July 13, neither the steps for filing Phase 3 claims nor the reliquidation process details have been announced by the CIT or CBP. Those details are expected before the end of July.

What Importers Should Do Now

Importers who paid IEEPA duties but have not been able to file for a refund because their entries liquidated over 80 days ago should consider filing a protective action at the CIT, requesting an order for reliquidation and a duty refund.

Miles & Stockbridge’s international trade lawyers have developed an IEEPA tariff recovery and risk management framework and will continue monitoring the CAPE process to advise importers on navigating the system.

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