The U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) issued an additional amendment to its ruling on March 27, 2026, expanding the scope of entries subject to reliquidation while continuing to suspend immediate implementation.
The update reflects a continued alignment between the court’s directive and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) ongoing development of its automated refund system, CAPE. While the order clarifies how entries should be treated, the suspension confirms that execution remains tied to system readiness.
WHAT DID THE COURT CHANGE IN THE MARCH 27 AMENDMENT?
The court added clarifying language to its prior order to ensure consistent treatment across all affected entries. Under the amended directive, CBP is instructed to:
- Liquidate all unliquidated entries subject to IEEPA duties without applying those duties
- Reliquidate entries that have already been liquidated but are not yet final
- Reliquidate entries even if liquidation has reached final status
This expansion removes ambiguity around whether final liquidations fall within the scope of the order. The court also clarified that the directive does not address separate issues related to de minimis treatment under 19 U.S.C. § 1321, which remain under review in a separate case.
HOW DOES THE LATEST ACTION ALIGN WITH PRIOR CIT AND CBP ACTIONS ON IEEPA REFUNDS?
This amendment builds on a series of coordinated developments between the court and CBP:
- March 6: The court suspended its initial order requiring immediate refund execution following CBP’s declaration outlining operational constraints
- March 12 and March 19: CBP provided progress updates on CAPE, confirming phased development and increasing system maturity
- March 20: The court expanded the scope of affected entries while maintaining the suspension
Across each step, the court has broadened eligibility while maintaining a consistent position that implementation must align with CBP’s technical capabilities.
WHAT DOES THE CONTINUED SUSPENSION MEAN FOR IMPORTERS?
The court reaffirmed that the amended order remains suspended “to the extent that it requires immediate compliance.” As a result, importers should not expect immediate liquidation or refund activity tied to this directive. Instead, execution remains dependent on CBP’s ability to operationalize the process within ACE through CAPE.
This reinforces the current position observed in prior updates:
- Eligibility for refunds continues to expand through court action
- The refund process itself remains pending system deployment
- Timing is driven by CBP’s development, testing, and validation milestones
The court’s decision to maintain suspension while refining scope indicates continued reliance on this system based approach rather than manual processing.
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