From AFOA General Counsel, Olsson Frank Weeda:

Our team is closely monitoring ongoing challenges to the IEEPA‑based tariffs and has been advising importers on how best to preserve potential refund rights.  The Court of International Trade issued an important procedural ruling in the IEEPA tariff refund litigation, which is can be found HERE.

On Dec. 15, a three‑judge panel (Judges Katzmann, Reif, and Restani) denied importers’ request for an injunction to stop liquidation of their entries while the challenges to IEEPA‑based tariffs continue.

The key takeaway: the panel held that an injunction is unnecessary because under its 28 U.S.C. § 1581(i) jurisdiction the CIT has the authority to order CBP to reliquidate even finally liquidated entries and provide refunds if the Supreme Court ultimately invalidates the tariffs. The court also emphasized that the government has now committed to not contest the CIT’s authority to order such refunds—and that the United States is precluded from walking that position back in the future.

While importers may very well ultimately be required to file suit at the CIT to obtain refunds,  this decision lowers the temperature on the race to file suit before entries on which importers paid IEEPA tariffs start to liquidate.

We will continue to monitor this situation closely and will report all significant developments to you. In the interim, please do not hesitate to reach out to us with questions or requests for additional information.