Early into his second presidency, Donald Trump invoked his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 (IEEPA) to impose a 10% tariff on all countries. Throughout spring 2025, U.S. businesses experienced whiplash with back-and-forth tariff threats and responding retaliation. Additionally, the President’s actions has been challenged via the court system. Here’s an update on what importers need to know.
Tariffs reach SCOTUS
On August 29, 2025, a Federal Circuit Court, sitting en banc, affirmed the Court of International Trade’s (CIT) decision to strike down the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs imposed by the executive orders on goods from nearly all countries to address annual US trade deficits in goods (V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump).
Additionally, the Federal Circuit Court vacated the CIT’s universal permanent injunction that enjoined the government from enforcing these tariffs and remanded the case to the CIT to consider whether its universal injunction complies with the standards set out by the Supreme Court in Trump v. CASA, Inc., 145 S. Ct. 2540 (2025). In Trump v. CASA, the Supreme Court held that district courts’ universal injunctions enjoining government officials from enforcing an executive order likely exceed the courts’ equitable authority.
As expected, on September 3, 2025, the Trump administration appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court will decide whether to hear the case.
Practical steps for importers
It is important to emphasize that the tariffs remain in effect. Even so, importers may take steps to preserve their rights in the event the tariffs are declared unconstitutional. Additionally, only the importer of record will qualify for refunds. This may create complexities where informal entries are handled by intermediaries such as express consignment operators.
Actions importers can take with further considerations described below:
- Request extension of liquidation and verify with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) if extension was granted;
- File protests within 180 days of liquidation;
- Request that any protests filed be stayed pending the outcome of the IEEPA tariff litigation; and
- File a lawsuit with the CIT for any protests that are denied to prevent liquidation from becoming final.
First, importers should review their customs data to identify potentially impacted entries. Importers can obtain this information through the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) portal with CBP.
Further, the importer must track liquidation dates for all entries. Liquidation is the process that CBP use to finalize the determination of duties, taxes and fees owed on imported goods. CBP must liquidate an entry within one year from the date of entry and the typical liquidation occurs approximately 314 days from date of entry. An importer must file an administrative protest within 180 days of liquidation to preserve its rights. Once an entry is liquidated and the liquidation becomes final following the expiration of the protest process, CBP will likely argue that regardless of the ultimate outcome of the IEEPA litigation no refund of duties paid is required.
For unliquidated entries, the importer may request extensions of liquidation, which CBP may grant for up to three years, but the regulation states that liquidation shall not be suspended simply due to pending liquidation (19 C.F.R. § 159.51). Importers should consider the filing of protests for liquidated entries if the IEEPA litigation has not been resolved within 180 days from liquidation (i.e., the protest deadline). Within the protest, the importer may request that CBP stay its decision on the protest pending the outcome of the IEEPA litigation. Protests are generally filed on CBP Form 19. Importers can protest CBP decisions involving the classification and rate and amount of duties chargeable as in dispute under the IEEPA litigation.
Support for international trade and tariff issues
In light of all of the above, due to the various legal uncertainties, it is important to note that the courts could decide to not apply retroactive relief for the tariffs meaning that the tariffs will not be refunded even if deemed unconstitutional. Additionally, the courts could narrow the retroactive relief to only the parties to the lawsuit. This may result in a limited (or no) refunds available to non-parties.
Have questions? Our International Business and Trade Law attorneys are ready to counsel our clients and work with them through these challenging times and questions about Trump tariffs. We’ll continue to monitor any decisions from SCOTUS and what they mean for your business.
