Tariff Refunds for USA Importers

If you import into the United States, there's a strong chance you're sitting on recoverable money. Between the Supreme Court striking down IEEPA tariffs, the long-standing duty drawback program, and financing options tied to pending claims, U.S. importers have more ways to claim tariff refunds and duty refunds right now than at almost any point in recent memory.

The catch: each pathway has its own eligibility rules, paperwork, and hard deadlines — and some of the biggest refund windows are closing on a rolling basis. Below are the three strategies our team uses to help importers get their duties back, plus how to find out which ones apply to you.

This is the largest and most time-sensitive refund opportunity in decades. After a chain of rulings in V.O.S. Selections and Learning Resources, the U.S. Supreme Court held in February 2026 that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not give the President the power to impose tariffs. The IEEPA "reciprocal" and "trafficking" tariffs were struck down, and CBP has been ordered to refund the duties collected under them.

To handle the sheer volume, CBP built a new system inside ACE called CAPE (Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries) and launched Phase 1 on April 20, 2026. Instead of refunding entry by entry, CAPE lets an importer of record — or their licensed customs broker — submit a single declaration covering thousands of entries, then issues one consolidated refund plus statutory interest.

A few things every importer should understand about IEEPA refunds:

Phase 1 is limited. It covers unliquidated entries and entries liquidated within the prior 80 days — roughly 63% of affected entries. Older, finally-liquidated entries are expected to be handled in a later phase.

It's not automatic. You (or your broker) must file a CAPE declaration. Entries with data mismatches, open protests, or active drawback claims get rejected and need separate handling.

You need ACH set up. Refunds are issued electronically to a bank account enrolled in the ACE Portal. No banking info on file means no refund — even if you qualify.

Section 301 and Section 232 tariffs are NOT affected. Those have separate legal authority and remain in force (but see drawback below — you can still recover them).

Duty drawback is one of the oldest and most overlooked refund programs in U.S. trade law. It lets you recover up to 99% of the duties, taxes, and fees you paid on imported merchandise that is later exported or destroyed. Critically, drawback applies to regular duties and to Section 301 and Section 232 tariffs — the very tariffs that aren't going away.

You may have a duty drawback claim if your business does any of the following:

Imports components or raw materials and exports finished goods made from them

Imports finished goods and re-exports a portion (returns, overstock, channel shifts)

Destroys unsold, expired, or defective imported inventory under CBP supervision

Received imported goods that didn't conform to spec or were shipped without consent (rejected merchandise)

The duty drawback process, in brief:

Eligibility assessment — confirm which drawback type fits (manufacturing, unused merchandise, or rejected merchandise) and estimate recovery.

Program design — choose the designated-entry strategy and substitution method that maximizes your refund.

Documentation — assemble import entry summaries (7501s), export proof (AES/ITN, bills of lading), and commercial invoices.

Filing — submit the claim electronically in ACE and track it through liquidation.

Two deadlines matter most: goods must be exported or destroyed within 5 years of import, and claims must be filed within 3 years of the export date. Miss the 3-year window and the money is gone — there are no extensions.

A refund you can't access for months isn't helping your cash flow today. That's why many importers look for ways to sell or finance a tariff refund rather than sit on it. There are legitimate paths to do exactly that:

Accelerated payment on drawback lets approved claimants receive about 95% of a claim's value before CBP finishes liquidation, instead of waiting through the full cycle.

Financing against pending claims turns a verified IEEPA refund or drawback receivable into working capital now — useful when you've got a large, well-documented refund in the pipeline.

One important caution: you cannot recover the same IEEPA duty twice. If an entry is sitting on a drawback claim and is also eligible for a CAPE refund, that overlap has to be planned at the entry level — CBP will catch a double recovery. Getting the sequencing right is exactly where a broker earns their keep, because CAPE refunds 100% of unlawful IEEPA duties while drawback caps at 99%, so the optimal mix isn't always obvious.

How do I get a duty refund as a U.S. importer?

It depends on why you're owed. Unlawful IEEPA tariffs are refunded through CBP's CAPE system. Duties on goods you export or destroy are recovered through duty drawback. Misclassified or overpaid duties on a liquidated entry can be recovered by protest within 180 days of liquidation. The first step is an entry audit to see which applies.

What is the duty drawback process?

At a high level: confirm eligibility, design the claim, gather your import and export documentation, file the claim in ACE, and track it to payment. Approved filers can also take accelerated payment to get most of the refund early.

Are IEEPA tariff refunds automatic?

No. CBP won't send a check on its own. You or your customs broker must file a CAPE declaration, and your bank details must be enrolled in the ACE Portal to receive the funds.

Can I sell or monetize my tariff refund?

You can't literally sell a refund to a stranger, but you can accelerate or finance it — through accelerated payment on drawback or financing against a verified pending claim — to access the cash sooner.

How far back can I claim import duty refunds?

For drawback, the export must occur within 5 years of import and the claim must be filed within 3 years of export. For IEEPA, eligibility depends on your entries' liquidation status and the current CAPE phase.