What You Should Know About Filing for IEEPA Refunds Using CAPE

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Law firm Foley & Lardner has received numerous requests for guidance on Phase 1 of the CAPE system. CAPE is the platform that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is beginning to use to process refunds of the IEEPA tariffs that the Supreme Court has ruled unlawful. Unlike standard tariff refunds, which generally are pursued through post-summary corrections or protests, refunds for entries that fall in Phase 1 must be sought through CAPE. 

Read on to learn more about key points.

Big Detail On Claiming Tariff Refunds: Were You the Importer of Record?

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From the law firm Foley & Lardner as of 2/24/26:

Contractual Issues for Companies That Are Importers of Record …

The importer of record is the entity that initially pays all tariffs and thus is the entity that would receive any IEEPA tariff refunds. Nonetheless, behind the scenes there often are a variety of mechanisms importers of record may have used to handle the often unexpected tariffs, including pushing back on suppliers for price concessions, using surcharges to pass along tariffs, or general price increases. In many cases, other parties may be looking to share any potential refunds. For importers of record potentially facing this situation, we recommend working through the following steps.

Read on to learn more about the specific steps.