Am I Owed a Tariff Refund After the IEEPA Ruling? (2026)

Short answer: Possibly — and it's worth checking. Courts invalidated certain IEEPA-based tariffs, and CBP's CAPE Phase 2 opened June 29, 2026, expanding refund eligibility. An estimated $35.46B in near-term refunds is processing on 60–90 day cycles, plus interest (flexport, 6/30; freightright, 7/2026). If you imported goods under tariffs later struck down — or paid them indirectly through a supplier — you may have a claim.

Who may be owed

• Importers of record who paid IEEPA-based duties on affected entries.
• Indirect payers — businesses that absorbed the tariff through a supplier's pricing — now recognized as an overlooked recovery class (cbiz, 7/10).

How the process actually works (and the honest limit)

DistributorBridge runs a flat-fee exposure analysis: we review your entry data, identify which line items were exposed to invalidated tariffs, and prepare the documentation for a claim. We do not file with CBP. Filing is done by a licensed customs broker — our partner handles the submission under their license. We analyse and prepare; the broker files. That line is not marketing caution — it's the legal boundary (only the importer of record or a licensed broker may file; cbp.gov, 5/20).

What to do

1. Pull your entry summaries (CBP Form 7501) for the affected period.
2. Get an exposure analysis to size what you may be owed.
3. If there's a claim, your broker files it; you collect the refund plus interest.

Sources: flexport.com (6/30); freightright.com (7/2026); cbiz.com (7/10); cbp.gov (5/20). As of 2026-07-16. This is general information, not legal advice.