IEEPA Tariff Refunds Are Coming — Is Your Operation Ready to Collect?

When the Supreme Court overturned IEEPA tariffs in February, it set in motion one of the largest customs refund processes in U.S. history — more than $160 billion in duties that importers are now entitled to recover. For printing operations that paid tariffs on imported substrates, equipment, or components, this isn't abstract trade policy. It's real money that could be coming back to your bottom line.

But it won't come automatically — and it won't apply to everyone.

First, a critical distinction: only businesses that directly paid the IEEPA tariffs as the importer of record are eligible for refunds. If your operation absorbed cost increases passed along by a supplier rather than paying duties directly to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), you are generally not eligible. That's a significant clarification for many businesses still trying to understand what they're owed.

It's also worth noting what these refunds don't cover. Section 301 duties, Section 232 duties, and antidumping and countervailing duties are separate from IEEPA tariffs and are not part of this refund process — a distinction that matters for printing businesses with complex import profiles.

For those who are eligible, CBP has built a new system to process these refunds, and it launches today, April 20. Whether your operation is positioned to collect — and how quickly — depends entirely on steps you either have or haven't taken yet. Some categories of entries won't be eligible for the initial rollout at all, meaning the path to recovery may be longer and more complicated than it appears.

This is not a process to navigate alone. The eligibility rules, filing requirements, and potential complications are specific enough that working with a licensed customs broker or trade attorney is strongly advisable before you file anything.

The window to get your house in order is narrow. For a full breakdown of what's required, what the timeline looks like, and what could delay or disqualify your refund, read the complete PRINTING United Alliance/AGC Advocacy IEEPA Refund Update.