Live intelligence from the wire services — curated for U.S. importers navigating the CAPE Phase 2 launch and the ongoing IEEPA refund landscape.
USTR • Tariff Regime Change
⚠️ Section 122 Expired • July 24, 2026
Section 122 Expired — Replaced Same-Day by New Section 301 Tariffs on 60 Countries
Section 122's 10% global tariff expired by statute at 12:01 AM EDT on July 24, its hard 150-day limit. There was no gap: President Trump signed a memorandum July 23 directing USTR to impose new Section 301 tariffs of 10% or 12.5% on 60 countries — ~99.4% of U.S. imports — effective the same instant Section 122 lapsed. USMCA and CAFTA-DR goods are exempt. Section 232 is unaffected. Brazil separately got its own 25% tariff July 22.
July 24, 2026 • USTR / Presidential Memorandum • CBP CSMS #69326983
CIT • Judge Eaton Order
⚖️ Reliquidation Order • July 17, 2026
CIT Orders CBP to Reliquidate Finally Liquidated Entries — But Only for 3,700 Filed Cases
On July 17, CIT Senior Judge Richard Eaton ordered CBP to reliquidate, without regard to IEEPA duties, any entry liquidated more than 80 days ago — giving CBP the legal authority it said in May it lacked. The order applies only to the roughly 3,700 companies whose IEEPA cases are on his docket — importers who haven't filed at the CIT are not yet covered. CBP must report Phase 3 progress to the court by August 4, 2026.
July 17, 2026 • CIT Order • Thompson Hine SmarTrade / Mondaq
CBP • July 13 CIT Filing
📈 $86.3B Repaid • July 13, 2026
CBP: $86.3B Repaid, $121.75B Accepted — Pace Accelerates as Class Certification Motion Looms
In a July 13 status declaration to Judge Eaton, CBP reported $86.3 billion repaid and $121.75 billion accepted as of July 10 — up sharply from $71.06B/$104.29B two weeks earlier. Separately, a Cato Institute analysis of CBP's own filings found refunds have reached only about 30% of affected entries, concentrated among large importers. Counsel from the original Supreme Court case have also filed a class certification motion at the CIT seeking to unlock refunds for importers stuck outside CAPE without requiring individual lawsuits — the government is opposing.
July 13, 2026 • CBP Declaration to CIT • Cato Institute / Volokh Conspiracy
CBP • CAPE Phase 2
🟢 Phase 2 Live • June 29, 2026
CBP Opens CAPE Phase 2 — Reconciliation Entries Now Eligible for $28.7B in Refunds
CBP deployed Phase 2 of CAPE in the ACE Portal on June 29, per CSMS #69066837. Phase 2 covers reconciliation-flagged entry types 01, 02, and 06 where the Type 09 reconciliation entry has not yet been filed, and the entry is unliquidated or liquidated within 80 days. EAC Susan Thomas testified at the June 9 CIT hearing that Phase 2 covers approximately 2.8 million entries — about $28.7 billion in potential refunds — bringing combined Phase 1 + 2 coverage to roughly $130 billion of the $166 billion collected under IEEPA. Once a Type 09 reconciliation entry is filed, the underlying entries drop out of Phase 2 — recovery moves to a later, slower phase.
June 29, 2026 • CBP CSMS #69066837 • Holland & Knight / Thompson Hine SmarTrade / Husch Blackwell
CBP • July 1 CIT Filing
💰 $71.06B Certified • July 1, 2026
CBP: $71.06B in IEEPA Refunds Certified and Sent to Treasury — But 4.36M Entries Failed Validation
CBP’s July 1 status declaration in Euro-Notions reports 18.1 million entries cleared file validation and 15.92 million liquidated or reliquidated without IEEPA duties as of June 29. But 4.36 million entries failed entry-level checks — and 8,384 certified refunds are sitting at Treasury solely because the importer (or its Form 4811 designee) never provided ACH banking information. Fixable failures include importer/filer mismatches, entry-number errors, and CSV misalignment. Also: effective July 7, 2026, warehouse entries (Types 21/22) are no longer accepted on CAPE Declarations — file warehouse withdrawals instead.
July 1, 2026 • CBP CIT status declaration, Euro-Notions Florida v. United States • Diaz Trade Law
DOJ • Federal Circuit
🔴 Appeal Filed • June 2, 2026
DOJ Files Federal Circuit Appeal of CIT Universal Refund Order — Finally Liquidated Entries at Risk
DOJ formally appealed the CIT’s universal injunction on June 2, 2026. The appeal targets refunds for importers with finally liquidated entries who have not filed individual CIT cases. CAPE continues for unliquidated and recently liquidated entries. A stay motion could freeze remaining refunds mid-stream.
June 2, 2026 • Federal Circuit • DOJ / Thompson Hine SmarTrade
CIT • Judge Eaton
⚖️ June 9 Hearing • Commissioner Testimony
CBP Commissioner Scott Ordered to Testify June 9 — DOJ Seeking Federal Circuit Block
CIT Judge Eaton ordered CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott to appear in person on June 9 to answer questions on the timeline for refunding all unlawfully collected duties. DOJ has petitioned the Federal Circuit for a mandamus to block the testimony. Most refunds processed so far have gone to large importers — small importers largely unpaid.
June 2026 • CIT • Hogan Lovells / Green Worldwide
CBP • Policy Reversal
⚠️ CBP Reversal • Finally Liquidated Entries
CBP Reverses Position — Says It Lacks Authority to Refund Finally Liquidated Entries Without Court Order
CBP asserted for the first time that it cannot reliquidate or refund entries 180+ days past liquidation without an importer-specific court judgment. This contradicts CBP’s own FAQ page. Importers without CIT cases filed may need to file individual actions immediately to preserve refund rights.
May 29, 2026 • CBP • Sheppard / Davis Wright Tremaine
PRNewswire • NYSE: CATO
💰 Real Earnings Impact • May 21, 2026
Cato Corporation Q1 Profit Triples — Directly Credits IEEPA Refund Claim
Charlotte, NC retailer Cato Corp (NYSE: CATO) reported Q1 net income of $9.3M vs. $3.3M a year ago. Management explicitly stated results “significantly benefited from the refund claim of IEEPA tariffs.” EPS: $0.47 vs. $0.17.
May 21, 2026 • PRNewswire • Charlotte, NC
CBS News
✅ First Confirmed Payment • May 12
“I Got the Money” — $10,000 ACH Refund Hits Account at 7am, May 12
CBS News confirmed the first real-world IEEPA refund: importer Sarah Wells received $10,000 at 7am on May 12 — covering the 20% tariff plus interest on one container from China. She expects a second $10,000 payment for additional entries.
May 12, 2026 • CBS News
EINPresswire • Aldero Partners
Interest Clock • March 23, 2026
Aldero Partners Launches Dual-Track IEEPA Recovery — Interest Accruing $650M/Month
Under 19 U.S.C. § 1505, CBP owes interest on late refunds — estimated at ~$650 million per month industry-wide. Every day of delay adds to your total recovery, but only if your claim is properly filed and in the queue.
March 23, 2026 • EINPresswire • New York, NY
PRNewswire • 117 Partners
Claims Market • May 4, 2026
117 Partners (Savannah, GA) — $1B+ Closed — Buying IEEPA Claims for Immediate Cash
Savannah, GA-based 117 Partners LLC closed over $1 billion in distressed IEEPA transactions. A secondary claims market is actively forming — importers needing immediate liquidity can monetize claims rather than wait for CBP processing.
May 4, 2026 • PRNewswire • Savannah, GA
U.S. Senate • S.3905
Legislative Backstop • S.3905
Tariff Refund Act of 2026 (S.3905) — 180-Day Refund Mandate Independent of Appeal
S.3905 would require CBP to refund all IEEPA duties within 180 days with statutory interest, creating a priority queue for small businesses. If enacted, it functions as a legislative backstop independent of the Federal Circuit appeal — a successful government appeal would not defeat the bill.
May 2026 • U.S. Senate / Sidley Austin LLP
PRNewswire • Gaia Dynamics
⚠️ Compliance Alert • April 21, 2026
30% Error Rate in IEEPA Filings — CAPE Submissions Triggering CBP Compliance Audits
Gaia Dynamics found a 30% discrepancy rate across 300,000+ IEEPA entry line items. CAPE submissions reopen historical entries to CBP scrutiny. CBP has declared 2026 “The Year of the Audit.”
April 21, 2026 • PRNewswire • San Francisco, CA
PRNewswire • Stout
National Advisory • April 9, 2026
Stout: 330,000 Eligible Importers — Only 27,000 Have Taken the First Step
Global advisory firm Stout reports 330,000 eligible importers across 53 million entries may be owed refunds. Companies that move quickly are better positioned in the processing queue — and better protected against appeal-driven disruption.
April 9, 2026 • PRNewswire • Chicago, IL
USTR • HFA / PRNewswire
⚠️ Emerging Tariff Risk • Post-July 24
Vietnam Named Priority Foreign Country — Section 301 Investigation Launched
USTR designated Vietnam as a “Priority Foreign Country.” Refund rates: Vietnam 46%, Cambodia 49%, Thailand 36%, Taiwan 32%. File now before post-July 24 replacement tariffs complicate IEEPA refund calculations.
May 6, 2026 • USTR / HFA Advisory
Tariffstool.com • CBP CSMS
⚠️ Filing Errors — Know Before You Submit
Top 4 Reasons CBP Rejects CAPE Declarations — Don’t Leave Money in the Queue
CBP rejects CAPE filings for: (1) entry-mix errors, (2) wrong tariff authority coding, (3) bad ACH enrollment, (4) incorrect CSV formatting. With the appeal active, rejected declarations face even more uncertainty on resubmission.
May 2026 • Tariffstool.com / CBP CSMS Guidance
