Trump tariffs charged under emergency powers were struck down, but retail shoppers cannot claim refunds directly from customs. The refund injunction covers importers, the appeal contests refunds for older closed entries, and shoppers must pursue sellers in separate consumer suits.
The central law is the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, the emergency statute the president used to impose reciprocal and fentanyl-related duties starting in Feb. 2025. The importer of record, meaning the business that paid the duty to Customs and Border Protection (CBP), is the only party with a CBP refund path.
Table of Contents
- What did the Supreme Court decide?
- What does the refund injunction require?
- Why is the government appealing?
- How are importer refunds enforced?
- What can retail shoppers do?
What did the Supreme Court decide?
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Feb. 20, 2026 that IEEPA does not authorize the president to impose tariffs, according to the Avalara tariff-refund summary.
That decision invalidated the IEEPA reciprocal and fentanyl-related duties imposed since Feb. 2025. Retail prices that rose while those duties were collected did not automatically become refundable to shoppers.
What does the refund injunction require?
On April 17, 2026, Court of International Trade Judge Eaton ordered CBP to liquidate all unliquidated IEEPA entries without IEEPA duties and reliquidate all liquidated entries for every importer of record, according to Diaz Trade Law's injunction report. Liquidate means close and finalize the customs entry.
Reliquidate means reopen a finalized entry to recalculate duties. The order was universal. It covered all importers, not only the businesses that sued.
Why is the government appealing?
The Justice Department appealed June 2, 2026 to the Federal Circuit. It argues the trade court lacked authority to order universal refunds for finally liquidated entries past the ordinary 90-day reliquidation and protest period for non-litigants.
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That challenge matters because many older retail supply-chain entries are already liquidated. If the appeal narrows the injunction, some importers may keep fewer refunds. Smaller refund pools would also reduce money available for consumer pass-through claims.
How are importer refunds enforced?
CBP launched the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, or CAPE, function in the ACE portal on April 20, 2026, according to CBP's IEEPA refund page. Importers file a declaration listing entries. ACE then validates the entries, recalculates duties without IEEPA tariffs plus interest, and pays electronically.
Only importers of record that paid duties can use that process. Consumers who paid higher shelf prices have no direct CBP refund mechanism. The importer total is estimated at about $166 billion.
What can retail shoppers do?
Consumers have filed putative class actions against large brands, retailers and importers. The suits allege the companies raised prices relying on unlawful IEEPA tariffs and must disgorge refunds under unjust enrichment and money-had-and-received theories. Those are state-law claims for repayment when one party allegedly keeps money it should return.
On Oct. 9, 2026, the Court of International Trade certified an importer class for IEEPA refunds. Co-lead counsel described it as the court's first class certification in active litigation. That case seeks business reimbursement, while shopper cases remain separate suits against sellers.
- Save receipts showing product, seller, price and purchase date.
- Note whether the seller blamed tariffs for a price increase.
- Watch for a certified consumer class covering that retailer or brand.
- Do not file with CBP unless you were the importer of record.
- A separate limit remains: replacement 10% Section 122 tariffs are still being collected during appeal.
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