Importers Seeking IEEPA Tariff Refunds Should Consider Filing with Court of International Trade
Importers would be prudent to act quickly to ensure they have a greater chance to obtain a refund should the Trump Administration’s International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”) Tariffs be ruled impermissible by the Supreme Court (“SCOTUS”), which heard oral arguments in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump on November 5.
Importers seeking the most conservative approach and greatest insurance would be prudent to file a claim for refund with the Court of International Trade (“CIT”) before liquidation of their entries, Customs and Border Protection’s (“CBP’s”) final computation or ascertainment of duties on entries for consumption, which typically occurs at or around 314 days after entry.
- Although CBP provides a Protest mechanism whereby importers may seek recovery of improperly assessed duties within 180 days of the liquidation date, that mechanism may be unavailable for tariffs that have been applied by CBP without its own discretion, e., tariffs imposed at the behest of the Trump Administration.
- Importers that file with CIT prior to liquidation may request an injunction against CBP’s liquidation of their related entries until the Supreme Court rules on IEEPA tariffs.
- Importers that file with CIT also may get answers as to whether they will be refunded more quickly, and at a minimum, will have prepared forward-thinking arguments to their entitlement to such refunds once the Supreme Court rules.
GKG Law is prepared to file such claims and is structuring its fees for doing so as $5,000 for each such filing with entitlement on a contingency basis to 10% of refunded duties. Importers interested in filing such claims may contact the GKG Law attorneys below.
John H. Kester is a Customs attorney with GKG Law. He additionally passed Customs and Border Protection’s rigorous Customs Broker License Exam and his application for a Customs Broker License is pending. He is reachable at jkester@gkglaw.com.
Brendan Collins and Oliver M. Krischik, Principals with GKG Law, participated in the firm’s numerous filings in opposition to the Section 301 tariffs implemented by President Trump’s first administration. They are reachable at bcollins@gkglaw.com and okrischik@gkglaw.com respectively.
