Today (March 4, 2026) the Court of International Trade (“CIT”) issued an order in Atmus Filtration, Inc. v. United States, CIT No. 26-01259, directing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) to refund IEEPA tariffs on unliquidated and not finally liquidated entries. The court orders that “with respect to any and all unliquidated entries that were entered subject to IEEPA duties, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is hereby directed to liquidate those entries without regard to the IEEPA duties. Any liquidated entries for which liquidation is not final shall be reliquidated without regard to IEEPA duties.”
In the order, Judge Eaton states that, “All importers of record whose entries were subject to IEEPA duties are entitled to the benefit of the Learning Resources decision.” He finds that the Trump v. CASA, Inc. case where the Supreme Court held that universal injunctions are impermissible, does not apply to the orders that will issue in this case because the CIT was provided with national geographic jurisdiction. Given its exclusive jurisdiction, Judge Eaton reasons that “parties to a case in no other court will be bound by this order.” Moreover, the Chief Justice of the CIT indicated that only Judge Eaton will hear cases pertaining to IEEPA refunds, so “there is no danger that another Judge, even one in this Court, will reach any contrary conclusions.”
Takeaways:
- While this is a clear win for importers, we do not know how the Government will respond or if it will appeal the CIT’s order. We will continue to monitor activity at the CIT and the Government’s response to this order. A CIT conference between the parties is scheduled for this Friday, March 6, where the refund plans are slated to be discussed.
- The plain language of the order is not limited to the plaintiff in this particular case. Rather, the CIT makes clear that all importers of record who paid IEEPA tariffs are entitled to the benefit of the Supreme Court’s decision.
- CBP has been ordered to liquidate “any and all” unliquidated entries without regard to IEEPA duties. It is common for CBP to liquidate or reliquidate entries with refunds where it is determined that the duties deposited by an importer at the time of entry are not required by law.
- CBP has also been ordered to reliquidate any liquidated entries for which liquidation is not final without regard to IEEPA duties. Liquidation is final in most instances unless a protest is filed within 180 days. Given the CIT’s order, it continues to be critical for importers to timely file protests within 180 days of liquidation so that liquidation does not become final.
- The CIT’s order does not address finally liquidated entries, such as those that have been liquidated for more than 180 days and where no protest was timely filed with CBP.
