U.S. to open $166B tariff refund portal

U.S. Customs and Border Protection plans to open its tariff-refund portal at 8 a.m. Eastern on April 20, starting a court-ordered return process for import duties collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. (cbp.gov, supplychaindive.com) The agency is building the system inside the Automated Commercial Environment, the trade portal importers already use, through a tool called Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, or CAPE. Phase 1 covers certain unliquidated entries and certain entries within 80 days of liquidation. (cbp.gov) Importers of record and licensed customs brokers will file refund requests by uploading a comma-separated values file through the Automated Commercial Environment portal, and each declaration can list up to 9,999 entries. Customs said filers can submit multiple declarations. (cbp.gov) The money at stake is enormous, but the public estimates are not identical. Supply Chain Dive, citing a court filing, said Customs expects to deliver about $127 billion based on the 82% of eligible entries already registered for electronic payment, while Reuters reported the broader refund total at roughly $166 billion. (supplychaindive.com, reuters.com) This refund process exists because the Supreme Court ruled on February 20, 2026, in *Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump* that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize a president to impose tariffs. The decision invalidated tariffs the Trump administration had imposed under that emergency-powers law. (scotusblog.com, sidley.com) After that ruling, the U.S. Court of International Trade ordered Customs to start liquidating and reliquidating entries without those duties, then later expanded relief to include finally liquidated entries. Customs has said that broader functionality will come in later CAPE phases, not in the April 20 launch. (supplychaindive.com, supplychaindive.com, cbp.gov) Customs now says refunds will arrive in 60 to 90 days after a request is accepted, longer than the up-to-45-day timeline the agency discussed in earlier court updates. The agency also said the clock can stretch further if a filing raises a compliance concern that needs more review. (supplychaindive.com) All refunds will be paid electronically, reflecting a Customs policy that shifted refunds to Automated Clearing House payments in early 2026. That is why Customs has been urging importers and brokers to set up portal access and bank information before the system opens. (cbp.gov, cbp.gov) Trade lawyers expect the hard part to come after the portal opens. Pete Mento of Baker Tilly said the CAPE process appears designed to make intake easy, but he said the latest court update did not suggest Customs would ease scrutiny once claims are filed. (supplychaindive.com) April 20 is the start of the refund queue, not the end of the tariff fight. Customs still has later phases to build, importers still have to prove eligibility, and Washington still has other trade laws it can use even after the emergency-tariff route was shut down. (cbp.gov, thomsonreuters.com)