DOJ Appeals IEEPA Tariff Refund Order
What the DOJ’s Appeal Means for IEEPA Tariff Refunds
If your business has been tracking IEEPA tariff refunds, a new legal development adds a layer of uncertainty to an already complex process — and importers should understand what it means for them.
The Department of Justice has filed a formal appeal challenging part of the Court of International Trade’s order directing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to issue universal IEEPA tariff refunds. The appeal does not halt the refund process entirely, but it does narrow the legal ground the government believes it must stand on — and that distinction matters.
What’s Being Appealed — and What Isn’t
The Court of International Trade originally ordered CBP to return funds paid on tariffs enacted under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), following a Supreme Court decision invalidating those levies. The court’s initial directive covered unprocessed or unfinalized entries, but was later expanded to include finally liquidated entries.
It is this expansion — the universal refund order covering all finalized entries — that the DOJ is contesting. The agency argues that the court does not have jurisdiction to issue a blanket order covering every importer. In its view, the court may only mandate refunds for parties that have filed individual lawsuits.
This is a procedural and jurisdictional argument, not a challenge to the underlying principle that IEEPA tariffs were unlawful.
The Refund Portal Is Still Operating
CBP’s dedicated refund system, known as CAPE (Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries), continues to process returns. As of late May, the portal had delivered approximately $20.6 billion in refunds and was on track to issue $85 billion in total.
However, CAPE does not yet have the technical capability to process finally liquidated entries — the very category at the center of the DOJ’s appeal. CBP is developing this functionality, and the Court of International Trade has issued a temporary stay on its universal order while that work continues.
Court Scrutiny Is Intensifying
The court is clearly monitoring progress closely. It has ordered CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott to appear at a July 9 hearing to account for the agency’s compliance with the refund directive. The DOJ has pushed back on this as well, filing an emergency motion to block or delay Scott’s appearance, arguing that compelling testimony from a senior agency head sets a problematic precedent under separation-of-powers principles.
Whether or not Scott ultimately appears, the hearing itself signals that the court expects timely, demonstrable progress — not open-ended delays.
What This Means for Importers
For most businesses already receiving refunds through CAPE, day-to-day operations are unlikely to be immediately affected. The appeal primarily concerns how broadly the refund obligation extends to finalized entries — not whether refunds are owed at all.
That said, importers with finally liquidated entries should be aware that their path to a refund may depend on the outcome of this appeal, or on whether they have — or need to — file individual legal claims.
Future Forwarding is continuing to monitor these developments closely. As always, we will not alter how we clear your shipments until formally authorized to do so in writing by U.S. Customs. If you have questions about how these developments affect your specific entries, please reach out to your Future Forwarding representative.