Once an IEEPA entry liquidates, 19 U.S.C. §1514 gives you exactly 180 days to file a protest. Miss it, and your only remaining option is Court of International Trade litigation — a longer, costlier path. Here's how the clock actually works.
Free. No obligation. We map your liquidation dates against every applicable deadline.
The clock doesn't start when you paid the duty — it starts on the date of liquidation, the date CBP finalizes an entry. Entries typically liquidate around 314 days after the original entry date, though this varies. Once liquidated, you have 180 days under 19 U.S.C. §1514 to file a formal protest challenging the IEEPA duty assessment.
| Tariff wave | Effective date | Est. 2-yr CIT deadline |
|---|---|---|
| China fentanyl tariffs | February 4, 2025 | ~February 7, 2027 |
| Canada / Mexico fentanyl tariffs | March 4, 2025 | ~March 4, 2027 |
| Reciprocal tariffs (EU, Japan, Vietnam, 60+ countries) | April 2025 | ~April 7, 2027 |
These are the outer CIT litigation deadlines under 28 U.S.C. §1581(i). Your entry-specific 180-day protest deadline is separate and depends on your individual liquidation date — it can arrive years earlier than these outside dates.
Your ES-003 Entry Summary Details report from ACE shows the liquidation date for every entry — this is the single most important number for calculating your deadline.
If liquidation happened recently, you're likely still inside your 180-day window — but the closer you are to the edge, the less time your broker or counsel has to prepare a complete protest.
Given the CIT's "ministerial" finding, a protest-only strategy carries risk. Many importers file a protest to preserve the administrative record while also evaluating a CIT filing with trade counsel.
CAPE covers unliquidated entries and those within 80 days of liquidation — not entries already past their 180-day protest deadline. If you're outside CAPE's scope, the protest/CIT track is your only path.
Once the 180-day window closes without a protest filed, your remaining option is litigation at the Court of International Trade under 28 U.S.C. §1581(i), subject to its own 2-year statute of limitations. Missing both windows generally forecloses recovery.
No — it's calculated individually from each entry's own liquidation date, not from a single fixed calendar date. This is why entry-by-entry tracking matters more than watching a single "deadline" in the news.
Protests are commonly filed by customs brokers on an importer's behalf. Given the CIT's ministerial-action finding, though, many importers now involve trade counsel to evaluate a parallel CIT filing rather than relying on a protest alone.
Yes. Under 19 U.S.C. §1505(c), CBP owes statutory interest on excess duties from the date of deposit until refund, currently accruing at roughly 6–7% annually. Interest doesn't stop the deadline clock, though — both run independently.
TariffIQ™ maps every entry's liquidation date against its 180-day window and flags what needs action first.
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