On April 1, 2026, Senior Judge Richard Eaton of the U.S. Court of International Trade (“CIT”) issued an order in Atmus Filtration, Inc. v. United States, the lead case addressing refunds of duties paid under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”), concluding that the government “continues to make satisfactory progress” and “is on track to meet the April 20, 2026 deadline” for implementing Phase 1 of the refund process.
The order relies on a March 31, 2026 declaration submitted by Brandon Lord, Executive Director of the Trade Programs Directorate within U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”). According to that declaration, the four components of the refund process are now between 60% to 85% complete.
Although Judge Eaton endorsed CBP’s anticipated rollout of Phase 1, Lord’s declaration makes clear that the initial phase will be limited in scope. Specifically, CBP will process entries that are either unliquidated or liquidated but still within the agency’s 90-day voluntary reliquidation period under 19 U.S.C. § 1501; that 90-day window covers the first half of the 180-day protest period when importers may challenge CBP’s duty assessment, after which liquidation becomes final. The declaration acknowledges that CBP intends to expand the refund process to handle finally liquidated entries “in a subsequent phase” but provides no additional detail. (In a separate order issued last week, Judge Eaton confirmed that the refund process must cover finally liquidated entries, see Update of March 30, 2026.)
Phase 1, however, will not be limited to unliquidated entries or those that have liquidated within CBP’s voluntary reliquidation period. According to Lord’s declaration, it will also cover other non-final entries, including those with a liquidation status of “Suspended,” “Extended,” or “Under Review.” Entries subject to antidumping and/or countervailing duties are included in this scenario, although CBP in those situations will remove the IEEPA duties without liquidating the underlying entry. Phase 1 will also handle warehouse entries and warehouse withdrawals.
CBP estimates that Phase 1 will cover approximately 63% of entries for which IEEPA-based duties were paid or deposited. Lord’s declaration further states that CBP expects to process refunds on such entries within 45 days after a filer submits the required information to CBP, “unless there is a compliance concern necessitating further review.” In accordance with Judge Eaton’s order, CBP must now file a short status report describing progress on the IEEPA tariff refund process. That report is due at 12pm EDT on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, and will be discussed in a closed conference before Judge Eaton later that day at 3pm EDT.