Federal Circuit Clears Path for CIT to Oversee IEEPA Tariff Refund Process

On March 2, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Federal Circuit”) issued a per curiam order granting the plaintiffs’ February 24, 2026 motion in V.O.S. Selections v. Donald J. Trump, et al. to immediately issue the Federal Circuit’s mandate, remanding the case to the U.S. Court of International Trade (“CIT”) for formulation of a refund process for importers that paid tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”).  The Federal Circuit’s order follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s February 20, 2026 decision that the IEEPA does not authorize the president to levy tariffs, which affirmed the Federal Circuit’s August 29, 2025 decision (see Update of February 20, 2026).  Before the case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, however, the Federal Circuit had withheld issuance of its mandate pending further review (see Update of September 2, 2025).