For U.S. Importers of Record · 2025-2026

How U.S. Importers Recover IEEPA Tariff Refunds After Learning Resources v. Trump

A guide for Importers of Record, trade compliance teams, finance leaders, and the advisors who serve them.

On February 20, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, invalidating the IEEPA tariffs that had been collected from U.S. importers between February 2025 and February 2026. The court ordered U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to remove the duties and issue refunds, with 6% statutory interest accruing on the principal, to eligible Importers of Record.

The opportunity is large, the timeline is real, and the work required to file a clean claim begins before CBP opens its filing window. This guide walks through eligibility, what trade compliance teams need to organize now, how the filing pipeline is expected to work, and the path from eligible claim to upfront liquidity in roughly two to three weeks.

What the Supreme Court Ruled

In Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, the Supreme Court held that the IEEPA tariffs imposed on imports from Canada, China, Mexico, and other affected trading partners between February 2025 and February 2026 exceeded the executive authority granted under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The tariffs, which averaged 10% to 25%, must be refunded with statutory interest at 6%.

The ruling does not affect Section 232 (national security) or Section 301 (unfair trade practice) tariffs, which were authorized under different statutes and remain in force. Only IEEPA-designated duties paid in the 2025-2026 window are subject to refund under this ruling.

CBP has acknowledged that processing the refunds will require building a new module called CAPE, a sub-module of the existing Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) system. 1st Capital Financial reports that more than $166 billion in IEEPA tariffs were collected across approximately 53 million customs entries during the affected window. CBP has stated that processing these claims manually would require an estimated 4.4 million labor hours, which is why CAPE is being built.

Who Qualifies

The eligibility test is structural, not industry-specific. Companies that meet the following criteria are likely to qualify:

• Served as the Importer of Record on shipments entering the United States between February 2025 and February 2026.
• Paid IEEPA-designated tariffs (averaging 10% to 25%) on those shipments, separate from any Section 232, Section 301, or standard MFN duties.
• Hold the entry-level records required to substantiate the claim, either directly or through the customs broker who filed the original entries.
• Can identify the IEEPA portion of the duties paid, separated from other duty categories in their broker ACE records or internal procurement data.

1st Capital reports the following industries as eligible based on the population of importers their File and Fund Program has worked with:

Refund amounts depend on entry status, import volume, and the specific IEEPA duty rates applied. 1st Capital reports business claims ranging from tens of thousands of dollars at the small-importer end to tens of millions of dollars at the high end.

Best-Fit Importer Profile

The companies that are positioned to recover the full refund without delay tend to share these attributes:

• Mid-market scale, typically 51 to 5,000 employees.
• Importer of Record on shipments from Canada, China, Mexico, or other affected trading partners during the relevant window.
• Internal trade compliance or customs ownership, with one accountable owner across trade compliance, tax, and treasury (because refunds touch all three).
• A customs broker relationship that can produce ACE entry data reconciled against internal procurement records.

Smaller importers and very large importers can still qualify. The mid-market profile is simply the band where the file-and-fund mechanics work most cleanly without bespoke handling.

What Trade Compliance Needs to Organize Now

The filing window has not opened. CAPE is not yet publicly accessible. The work that determines whether an importer files cleanly on day one is the work of organizing entry records before CBP is ready to receive them.

The teams that recover refunds without delay are organizing four data sets now:

1. Entry-level records for all imports between February 2025 and February 2026, indexed by entry number and by import broker. Gaps and indexing errors at this level cascade into CBP processing delays.
2. IEEPA-designated duties separated from Section 232, Section 301, and standard MFN assessments. CBP will refund only the IEEPA portion. Mixed-duty entries that have not been disaggregated will be harder to substantiate.
3. Broker ACE records reconciled against internal procurement data. Customs brokers filed the original entries and hold the ACE data; importers hold the procurement-side records. Reconciling the two is the work that produces an audit-ready claim package.
4. Liquidation status per entry. Liquidated entries carry a 180-day protest period, and that clock matters. Unliquidated entries follow a different procedural path.

The companies that show up on day one of the CAPE window with these four data sets in order are the companies that finish CBP processing first.

How the File and Fund Program Works

1st Capital Financial’s File and Fund Program is the recovery pathway most mid-market importers use. The program covers six end-to-end stages:

1. Overview and discovery call. Initial scoping of import volume, entry count, and refund posture.
2. Import data review. Customs records are reviewed against ACE entries and broker records.
3. Refund estimate and financing proposal. An expected refund range and financing terms are documented.
4. Claim submission and financing offer. Filing is prepared and an offer to advance against the receivable is extended.
5. Acceptance and disbursement. Qualifying importers can access the expected refund as upfront liquidity in roughly two to three weeks, rather than waiting on CBP processing alone.
6. Maintenance and monitoring. Tracked through CBP final determination.

1st Capital is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. Legal support flows through partner law firms when required. All refund estimates are subject to CBP review and final determination.

The Filing Window and Why Preparation Beats Speed

Three dates anchor the timeline:

Now. CBP is building CAPE, the sub-module of ACE that will process refund claims. Public access to CAPE has not yet opened. Importers that are organizing entry data, separating IEEPA-designated duties, and reconciling broker records against internal procurement records are positioning to file on day one.

When CAPE opens. Current guidance cites a 45-to-60-day filing window, followed by a 180-day appeal period. Once the window opens, claim packages that are already assembled file first, and claims that move through CBP processing earliest are the ones that get paid earliest.

Sunset, projected. 1st Capital projects the recovery opportunity sunsets in early November 2026. The combination of the filing window, the appeal period, the 180-day protest clock on liquidated entries, and CBP’s processing throughput effectively closes the recovery window for most importers by late 2026.

Eligibility alone does not satisfy diligence. Data gaps, indexing errors, or incomplete broker records can delay recovery by months even after a claim is accepted. The importers that recover their refunds without delay are the importers that organize records before the window opens.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the IEEPA tariff refund the same as a tax refund?

No. The IEEPA tariff refund is a customs duty refund, administered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), not the Internal Revenue Service. The refund mechanism, eligibility criteria, filing pathway, and tax treatment are different from a federal or state income tax refund.

What is the difference between IEEPA tariffs and Section 232 or Section 301 tariffs?

IEEPA tariffs were imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Section 232 tariffs were imposed under national-security authority, and Section 301 tariffs were imposed under unfair-trade-practice authority. The Learning Resources v. Trump ruling invalidated the IEEPA tariffs specifically. Section 232 and Section 301 tariffs were authorized under different statutes and are not affected by this ruling.

Does 1st Capital guarantee the refund?

No. CBP issues the refunds, and final refund amounts are subject to CBP review and final determination. 1st Capital’s File and Fund Program advances capital against an eligible refund receivable on terms documented during the financing proposal stage. The mechanism is structured as a purchase or advance against the receivable, not a guarantee of the refund amount.

How long does the File and Fund pathway take?

1st Capital projects roughly two to three weeks from acceptance to disbursement for qualifying importers. The timeline is 1st Capital’s projection for the File and Fund Program, not a guaranteed turnaround time. CBP’s underlying refund processing operates on its own timeline and continues through final determination.

Does Stone Path charge importers for the introduction?

No. Stone Path Consulting facilitates introductions to 1st Capital Financial and does not collect fees from importers for the introduction. Compensation to Stone Path flows from partner agreements on the capital-partner side, not from the importer side.

What if my company has already started working with another firm on IEEPA recovery?

It depends on what stage that engagement is at. If you have not yet signed a contract with another firm, an introduction to 1st Capital can run in parallel for comparison. If you have already signed, we typically do not pursue the introduction further. The intake form asks this question so we route accordingly.

Next Step

The next step is a short call to confirm eligibility profile: industry, import volume, IOR status, 2025-2026 entries. If qualified, Stone Path facilitates an introduction to the 1st Capital team within one business day.

About this guide. Stone Path Consulting facilitates introductions between qualifying importers and 1st Capital Financial’s File and Fund Program. 1st Capital Financial is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. This page is for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal, tax, or customs advice. Refund estimates and recovery timelines are subject to CBP review and final determination, and may depend on future agency guidance, legal developments, and the specific facts of each business. Statistics cited are reported by 1st Capital Financial. Stone Path Consulting does not collect fees from importers for the introduction.