On March 20, 2026, Senior Judge Richard Eaton of the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) issued another Order in Atmus Filtration Inc. vs. United States regarding refunds of duties paid under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). In summarizing the CIT’s March 19, 2026 closed conference with plaintiff and government legal counsel, the judge noted that, “[c]onsidering that no resolution was reached with respect to the reliquidation of entries for which liquidation has become final, importers should be aware of the remedies available under 19 U.S.C. § 1514” (which is the legal process for importers to formally protest decisions made by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regarding imported merchandise).
This statement is the first indication from the CIT that, for liquidated entries, reliquidation for entries that have become final has not been resolved. Importers of record may need to file a protest with CBP requesting a refund within 180 days of liquidation. This is a formal process to administratively contest CBP decisions related to imported merchandise and request refunds. Importers of record may be facing an important timing issue since liquidation generally occurs 314 days after an imported good’s date of entry, and the earliest IEEPA-based tariffs – for Canada, Mexico and China and the April 2, 2025 IEEPA reciprocal tariffs — are now undergoing liquidation. Once a protest has been filed, CBP cannot finalize a liquidation while the protest is pending. Notably, in his March 4, 2026 Order, Judge Eaton told CBP: “Any liquidated entries for which liquidation is not final shall be reliquidated without regard to IEEPA duties.” (Emphasis added). See Thompson Hine Update of March 4, 2026.
In the March 20, 2026 Order Judge Eaton also clarified that the scope of the IEEPA duties include those imposed on imports from Brazil and India, for reasons other than the IEEPA reciprocal tariffs. See Thompson Hine Updates of November 21, 2025 (Brazil) and February 10, 2026 (India) for additional details.
According to the Order, CBP must provide the judge on March 31, 2026, another report on its progress in developing a process for refunds of IEEPA duties paid with interest.