Trade Court Certifies a Class for IEEPA Tariff Refunds, Putting About $30 Billion Owed to Small Importers in Play as DOJ Appeals

The Court of International Trade has certified a class of importers who paid the emergency tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act between 1 February 2025 and 19 February 2026, the day before the Supreme Court struck them down. Importers who have filed their own suits are excluded. The court held a closed conference with the parties on 13 October, and proposed schedules are due on 22 October.

About $166 billion was collected under the tariffs. Customs and Border Protection has paid out more than $100 billion in refunds through its online portal. The court estimates about $30 billion would stay with the government without a class action, mostly money owed to small importers who haven’t sued or filed claims.

The legal fight

More than 4,000 IEEPA-related lawsuits have been filed. The Justice Department is already appealing a separate order requiring refunds on entries that were finally settled, arguing the court’s power covers only importers who sued. Trade lawyers expect an appeal of the class certification too, and are advising clients to file their own cases anyway. What happened at the 13 October conference hasn’t been reported.

The budget effect

Refunds turned net customs receipts negative for three months this year, as covered in our post on tariff revenue. CBO put fiscal 2026 customs duties at about $172 billion, after roughly $130 billion in refunds. Another $30 billion going out would add to the deficit in fiscal 2027.

The tariffs that replaced them

The administration replaced the emergency tariffs with Section 301 duties of 10% to 12.5% on 60 economies, which face their own challenge in the same court, covered in our Section 301 post. An AP-NORC poll found more than 64% of Americans say the President has gone too far with tariffs, up from 58% in January.

Why it matters

The class action is about who gets their money back. Large importers with trade lawyers have filed and are being refunded. Small businesses that paid the same tariffs, often passed through by brokers, mostly haven’t. A class would refund them without each filing suit. The government’s appeal, if it comes, would keep that money in the Treasury while the courts decide, and it would set a rule for how future refunds work if the Section 301 tariffs fall too.