Trade & Customs Oct 15, 2026 · 8 min read

IEEPA refund class action: the small importers’ safety net, and its 2027 timeline

$30bn of tariff refunds now has a class action behind it, and it will be slow. About $166bn was collected under the struck-down IEEPA tariffs. About $126bn had been certified for refund by 2 October, according to Penn Wharton. On 8 October the Court of International Trade certified a class of every importer that paid and has not sued. The court says about $30bn would otherwise stay with the government. Our view: this is a safety net for small importers, not a quick payout. The parties’ timetable is due 22 October. Metro Global says an appeal could push things to spring or summer 2027. Our call: no class refunds before April 2027.

Court opens an IEEPA refund route for small importers, but the money is a 2027 story
About $30bn of unlawful US tariffs could stay with the government unless a class action pulls it back. That figure is the Court of International Trade’s (CIT) own estimate, reported by Supply Chain Dive. On 8 October 2026 the court certified a nationwide class of importers to go after it. Next Thursday, 22 October, the two sides must file a joint proposal for how the case will run.
We think this is the right outcome, and an overdue one, for the small importers who never chased their money. We also think it will be slow. Forwarders and customs brokers should treat it as a 2027 cash event for their clients, not a Q4 one. They should use the waiting time to get paperwork in order.

What the court did

The case is Freestyle World, Inc. v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Court No. 26-01088, Slip Op. 26-123). Judge Richard K. Eaton certified a class under Rule 23(b)(2) of the CIT’s rules, according to a 12 October alert from law firm Lighthill. A class action lets one lawsuit stand in for a whole group of people with the same claim.
The class covers all importers of record that paid duties under the challenged tariff orders between 1 February 2025 and 19 February 2026. An importer of record (IOR) is the party legally responsible for paying the duty on an entry. Any company that has filed its own suit to recover IEEPA duties is left out. Supply Chain Dive reports that more than 4,000 such suits have been filed.
Two details matter for forwarders. First, Lighthill’s alert states that “membership in a class certified under Rule 23(b)(2) is mandatory and fixed.” Eligible importers do not opt in and cannot opt out. Second, per Lighthill, the class “shall apply for all purposes, including settlement.” So if the government settles, the class is the vehicle that carries it.
The court held a closed conference with the parties on 13 October. The joint proposed scheduling order is due on 22 October, per both Lighthill and Supply Chain Dive.

Why a class action was needed

IEEPA is the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The administration used it as the legal basis for a wide set of tariffs from early 2025. On 20 February 2026 the Supreme Court ruled that “IEEPA does not confer authority to the President to impose tariffs,” according to a summary published the next day by law firm Thompson Coburn. The ruling “did not establish a specific remedy or discuss refunds,” the firm added. That left lower courts and CBP to work out how the money goes back.
CBP’s answer was CAPE (Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries), an online refund process. It has moved a lot of money. Penn Wharton Budget Model’s update of 14 October says the IEEPA tariffs “totaled approximately $166 billion, all of which is subject to refund.” It also says “CBP has certified approximately $126 billion in refunds through October 2, 2026.” Penn Wharton calls that “about 76 percent of the $166 billion collected.” Its chart note says the refund figures include interest. So the share of principal returned is a little lower than that headline ratio.
The gap is the point of this case. The order, quoted by Supply Chain Dive, says: “Some importers of record have not taken advantage of CAPE.” It goes on: “It is believed that these are overwhelmingly small importers who, because of the cost or effort involved in filing a CAPE declaration, or because they are unaware of the program, will never take advantage of CAPE.”
The court’s stated aim, also via Supply Chain Dive, is the “liquidation or reliquidation of all of the entries on which the unlawful IEEPA duties were imposed, and the refund of those duties to the importers of record that paid them.” Liquidation is CBP’s final calculation of the duty owed on an entry. Reliquidation reopens that calculation.

What it does not do yet

This is a procedural step, not a cheque. James Kim, an international trade partner at ArentFox Schiff, wrote on LinkedIn, as quoted by Supply Chain Dive: “The decision doesn’t immediately expand refund eligibility or direct payment.” He added that it does “create a potential path forward for non-litigants, toward a single order requiring refunds to be issued to importers that have not pursued individual lawsuits.”
Metro Global, in a 14 October piece, makes the same point: “Importantly, the latest decision does not automatically authorise refunds.”
Two things could slow it down. Lighthill notes that “The government may seek further review of the certification order.” Metro Global reports that the government is also pursuing an appeal on whether the court can order refunds on finally liquidated entries. Those are entries where the normal window to protest the duty has closed. Metro Global’s own assessment is that “the class-action process could be delayed until spring or summer 2027.”
Finally liquidated entries are a sore point. Lighthill says CAPE “does not accept certain categories of entries for processing, including finally liquidated entries.” It also says CAPE Phase 3, deployed on 6 October, is “only for plaintiffs”. A 17 September client advisory from C.H. Robinson describes Phase 3 as adding refunds on finally liquidated entries covered by court-ordered reliquidation. In other words, the importers who sued are getting the newest refund channel first. Everyone else waits for the class case.

The money already stuck in the pipe

There is a second, more boring reason refunds stall: admin. C.H. Robinson’s 17 September advisory, citing CBP’s declaration to the CIT, gave these figures:

more than 286,000 CAPE declarations submitted, over 201,000 accepted for processing, covering about 27.2 million entries

about $134.7bn in potential and certified refunds accepted into CAPE

about $122bn, including interest, certified and sent to the US Treasury for payment

about 20,184 refunds worth $1.3bn on hold because the importer of record had not provided ACH banking details (ACH is the US bank transfer system)

That last line is $1.3bn that importers are owed and are not receiving because of missing bank details. If that happens with importers who did file, it will happen again with class members who never engaged with CBP at all.
The wider tariff picture has not got easier either. Penn Wharton puts the US effective tariff rate at 7.1% in August 2026, up from 6.7% in July and 2.3% in January 2025. It notes that the temporary Section 122 tariff expired on 24 July 2026 and was “replaced by new Section 301 tariffs of 10 or 12.5 percent on imports from 60 economies.” China faces the highest effective rate among major partners, at 24.3% in August, per the same update. Clients waiting on IEEPA money are paying new duties in the meantime. That makes the refund a cash-flow question as much as a legal one.

What it means for forwarders and brokers

Our read is that the class action shifts work onto intermediaries before it shifts any money.
Expect questions. Small importers who ignored CAPE are now class members automatically. Many of them will hear “class action” and assume a refund is on its way. Brokers will need a clear, consistent line: you are in the class, nothing is payable yet, and timing depends on the court and any appeal.
Check where you were the IOR. Where a forwarder or broker acted as importer of record, that firm paid the duty and is, on the class definition, a class member in its own right. This covers non-resident importer set-ups and some DDP shipments (delivered duty paid, where the seller covers import duty). Any refund would flow to the IOR. Contracts will decide who it belongs to after that. Now is the time to read them.
Clean the records. The ACH backlog shows that money gets stuck at the last step. Make sure each client’s ACE profile, bank details and IOR number are correct. ACE is the Automated Commercial Environment, CBP’s trade portal. Phase 3 eligibility, per C.H. Robinson, was tied to importers that gave CBP a valid IOR number by 30 July 2026. Details like that will decide who gets paid first.
Do not book the cash. For shippers on thin margins, a 2027 refund is not working capital for peak season or for the 2026 contract cycle. Plan landed costs on the duties clients pay now, not on money that might come back.
Mind the line between the two groups. Importers already in CAPE, or with their own suits, are on a different and faster track. Clients will compare notes. A clear split in your customer list (CAPE filed, own suit, class only) will save time when the schedule lands.

Our call

We expect the 22 October joint filing to set out a schedule that runs well into 2027. We also expect the government to seek further review of the certification within weeks. Our prediction: no class member who relied only on the class action will receive an IEEPA refund before April 2027. Meanwhile, CAPE’s certified total will keep creeping up from the $126bn mark, mostly from importers who already filed. The roughly $30bn the court is worried about will stay largely unpaid through the end of Q1 2027.

Sources