In a May 29, 2026 filing, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) indicated it planned to appeal a U.S. Court of International Trade (“CIT”) injunction requiring U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) to refund duties collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”).
Background
On March 4, 2026, CIT Senior Judge Richard Eaton issued an injunction in Atmus Filtration v. United States, ordering CBP to refund IEEPA duties on both “any and all unliquidated entries” and “any liquidated entries for which liquidation is not final” (see Update of March 4, 2026). After CBP assured the court that it would develop a refund process, Judge Eaton issued a suspension order on March 6, 2026, temporarily staying enforcement of the injunction while CBP built the refund mechanism (see Update of March 6, 2026). On March 27, 2026, Judge Eaton expanded and clarified the injunction, confirming that refunds would extend to all entries subject to IEEPA duties, including “any liquidated entries for which liquidation is final” (see Update of March 30, 2026).
A New Appellate Window
After the plaintiff in Atmus Filtration voluntarily dismissed its case, Judge Eaton reissued both the injunction and the suspension order on April 7, 2026, in Euro-Notions Florida v. United States (see Update of April 8, 2026). This reissuance gave the DOJ a new 60-day period, until June 6, 2026, to file an appeal.
Judge Eaton Demands Answers from CBP
Since March, CBP has filed biweekly status reports updating the CIT on its progress in developing an IEEPA tariff refund process. On May 27, 2026, with concerns over the agency’s continuing efforts, Judge Eaton issued a show cause order directing CBP to explain why the suspension order should remain in place. The show cause order required the CBP Commissioner to appear in person before the court on June 9, 2026, to answer questions regarding the agency’s implementation of the tariff refund process.
DOJ Challenges the CIT’s Authority
In its May 29, 2026 motion, the DOJ objected to both the requirement that the CBP Commissioner appear personally and to the injunction itself, claiming that the CIT exceeded its authority by issuing a “universal injunction” requiring CBP to reliquidate final entries of importers of record who had no lawsuit pending before the court. According to the government’s submission, the DOJ “intend[s] to appeal the Court’s universal injunction and to seek a stay of the injunction except as to the particular importer plaintiffs in each case in which the Court has entered the injunction.”
What’s Next?
Later on May 29, Judge Eaton denied the DOJ’s motion, leaving in place both the requirement that the CBP Commissioner appear and the injunction’s mandate that CBP reliquidate all entries subject to IEEPA duties, including finally liquidated entries.
The denial guarantees the DOJ will file a formal appeal this week, upending the IEEPA tariff refund process.