Foreign DDP Manufacturers: Are You Owed an IEEPA Refund?

The Supreme Court’s ruling in Learning Resources v. Trump made these refunds available to all eligible importers of record. Under Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) Incoterms, the seller — typically the foreign manufacturer or exporter — is responsible for all costs including customs duties through the point of delivery in the U.S. In many DDP arrangements, the foreign manufacturer is named as the Importer of Record on CBP Form 7501 and pays IEEPA duties directly through their U.S. customs broker. With $71.06 billion already certified to Treasury and statutory interest under 19 U.S.C. § 1505 accruing at approximately $650 million per month industry-wide across 330,000 importers, acting now matters. CAPE Phase 1 covers unliquidated and recently liquidated entries; Phase 2 covers reconciliation-flagged entries; Phase 3 targets finally liquidated entries for CIT plaintiffs in late July 2026. If you are the IOR named on Form 7501, you are the party entitled to the IEEPA refund — not your U.S. buyer. Your U.S. buyer, if not named as IOR, has no direct CAPE filing rights. To confirm your IOR status: contact the licensed customs broker who filed entries on your behalf in the U.S. and request copies of the CBP Form 7501 entry summaries for entries from March 2025 through February 24, 2026. If your company name appears in the Importer of Record field, you are eligible to pursue CAPE refunds.

Foreign importers of record face two specific challenges in the CAPE refund process: ACE account access and U.S. bank account requirement. CBP's CAPE Declaration must be submitted through the ACE Secure Data Portal. Foreign IORs who do not have active ACE accounts must either establish one or authorize their U.S. customs broker (who already has ACE access) to file on their behalf under a valid Power of Attorney. CBP requires a U.S. bank account for ACH refund disbursement — foreign bank accounts cannot receive ACH payments directly from Treasury. Foreign IORs without a U.S. bank account have two options: (1) open a U.S. business bank account before filing; or (2) designate a U.S.-based Form 4811 authorized party to receive the refund and remit net proceeds. The Tariff Bureau operates as a Form 4811 designee for qualifying foreign IOR clients with this need.

CBP Form 4811 — Authorization for Refund of Excessive Duty Deposits — allows a foreign IOR to designate a U.S.-based third party to receive the IEEPA refund ACH payment directly from Treasury. The designated party receives the gross refund, deducts any agreed fees or amounts, and remits the net to the foreign IOR. Form 4811 must be executed before the CAPE Declaration is submitted — post-submission amendments are not permitted. The designated party must have a valid U.S. bank account enrolled in ACE. The Tariff Bureau uses the Form 4811 model for qualifying foreign IOR clients: we receive the gross refund, deduct our contingency fee, and wire the net amount to the foreign manufacturer's designated account. This eliminates the foreign bank account issue entirely and provides a single-point-of-contact for CAPE preparation and disbursement.

If you sold DDP and are the IOR, the IEEPA refund is your money — you paid the duties. However, some DDP sales contracts include language that assigns duty refund rights to the U.S. buyer, or requires the seller to pass through refunds received. Review your DDP contract language carefully before filing a CAPE Declaration. If your contract assigns refund rights to the U.S. buyer, filing a CAPE Declaration and retaining the refund may create a contractual dispute. Conversely, if your U.S. buyer is attempting to claim a refund on entries where you are the IOR, they have no direct CAPE filing rights — CBP will only disburse to the IOR or Form 4811 designee. Both situations should be reviewed with trade counsel before filing. The Tariff Bureau can help identify your IOR status and refund exposure — determination of contractual rights is outside our advisory scope and requires legal counsel.