You Still Have Options: Recovering IEEPA Tariff Refunds After the CAPE and Protest Deadlines Have Passed

A wide-angle editorial photograph of a determined importer or business professional standing in a grand federal courthouse corridor, viewed from a low angle looking up, conveying strength and resolve. The figure is dressed in business attire, holding a thick folder of documents, with dramatic natural light streaming through tall arched windows casting long shadows across marble floors. The atmosphere is serious and institutional, with ornate neoclassical architecture visible — columns, high ceilings, and stone walls suggesting the weight and permanence of the legal system. In the background, blurred courthouse doors suggest an open path forward. The overall mood is one of opportunity within a formal, authoritative setting — hopeful but urgent. Cinematic lighting, editorial photography style, shallow depth of field.

The Supreme Court struck down IEEPA tariffs in February 2026, but many importers who missed the CAPE refund window or the 180-day protest deadline wrongly believe they have no recourse. A separate path through the U.S. Court of International Trade under 28 U.S.C. § 1581(i) remains open, offering a two-year statute of limitations — but acting quickly is critical before entry-specific deadlines expire permanently.

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