U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has officially announced that it will deploy the automated refund processing system (CAPE) on April 20 for certain tariffs previously imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
 
Relevant foreign trade practitioners are strongly advised to contact their U.S. customs brokers immediately to verify the status of IEEPA-affected entries, and ensure that all contact addresses and bank account information on file with CBP are up to date.
 
The IEEPA tariff refund program will be implemented in phases:
 
- Phase 1 eligible entries: Unliquidated entries and entries liquidated within the past 80 days.
- Phase 1 ineligible entries: Entries under reconciliation, drawback applications, pending protests, non-ACE entries, and entries subject to anti-dumping or countervailing duties.
 
Notably, the U.S. government filed an appeal on April 13 seeking a stay of execution, introducing significant uncertainty to the refund process. If the appellate court grants the stay, the automated refund process may be suspended in whole or in part, leading to a prolonged legal battle involving hundreds of billions of dollars.