The largest tariff-refund event in US history is underway, and Canada-origin goods are part of it. Here is where the IEEPA refund process stands and what businesses with affected entries should be doing.
What happened
On February 20, 2026, the US Supreme Court held 6–3 in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs — rendering the IEEPA-based tariff programs invalid from inception. That includes the “fentanyl” tariffs that applied at 35% to certain Canadian-origin goods, alongside the global reciprocal tariffs. Two days later, CBP announced it would stop assessing IEEPA duties (CSMS #67834313).
The refund machinery
Following the ruling, the Court of International Trade ordered CBP to liquidate or reliquidate affected entries without regard to the IEEPA duties — meaning refunds of the roughly US$165 billion collected — and CBP has been building an automated refund system referred to as CAPE. The scale is enormous: over 330,000 importers across more than 53 million entries. Analysts have cautioned that government appeals and mechanics could delay actual payment.
What affected businesses should do
Law-firm guidance (Skadden; Holland & Knight; Stinson; Buchalter) converges on the same steps: identify every entry that paid IEEPA duties (for the Canada tariffs, from early 2025 through February 2026); preserve entry summaries and duty-payment records; monitor liquidation status and protest deadlines under 19 U.S.C. § 1514; complete CBP’s electronic ACH refund registration; and watch for CBP, DOJ, and Treasury procedural guidance.
The Canadian angle
The refund claimant is the US importer of record — but Canadian exporters have skin in the game: where tariff costs were shared through pricing concessions, refunded duties become a commercial conversation. Knowing which of your US customers’ entries carried the 35% surcharge is worth the records pull.
Sources: Supreme Court opinion, Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump (Feb. 20, 2026); CIT orders; CBP CSMS #67834313; Penn Wharton Budget Model; Skadden, Holland & Knight, Stinson, Buchalter, and Norton Rose Fulbright client alerts.
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