If you imported goods into the U.S. between February 2025 and February 2026, you probably paid duties under two different authorities: IEEPA and Section 301.
Only one of them is refundable.
The Supreme Court ruled in February 2026 that IEEPA tariffs were unlawful. Section 301 tariffs were unaffected and remain in force.
If you're trying to figure out what your refund is worth, or whether you even have a claim, the first step is knowing which duties you paid under which authority.
On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump that IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs. The ruling invalidated every IEEPA-based tariff, and all IEEPA tariffs terminated on February 24, 2026.
Section 301 tariffs were imposed under separate authority and were not affected.
For importers who paid IEEPA duties, the ruling opened a refund window. For importers who paid Section 301 duties, nothing changed.
For a detailed breakdown of the ruling, the legal reasoning, and what the Court did and did not decide, see Supreme Court Tariff Ruling: What Learning Resources v. Trump Means for Your Business.
IEEPA stands for the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. § 1701). It's a national security statute that lets the President regulate economic transactions when a national emergency is declared.
Before 2025, IEEPA served as the legal backbone for targeted sanctions programs against countries like Iran and Russia. Imposing broad import tariffs was a different use of the law entirely, and one that had no historical precedent.
Once the emergency was declared, the President could act unilaterally. No Congressional vote. No public comment period. Tariffs took effect with little advance warning.
IEEPA tariffs applied to goods from multiple countries, with rates set by executive order. They ran from February 4, 2025, through February 24, 2026.
Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. § 2411) is a completely different framework.
It lets the U.S. Trade Representative investigate foreign trade practices that harm U.S. commerce. If the USTR finds a violation, it can impose targeted tariffs.
The most prominent example is the Section 301 China tariffs, first imposed in 2018 after a USTR finding of intellectual property theft and forced technology transfer. Those tariffs remain in force.
Unlike IEEPA, Section 301 requires a formal process: public notice, written comments, and often a public hearing. Businesses can participate directly. The process takes months.
Section 301 tariffs apply to Chinese-origin goods across four product lists, with rates ranging from 7.5% to 100% depending on the category.
| IEEPA | Section 301 | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal authority | 50 U.S.C. § 1701 | 19 U.S.C. § 2411 |
| Who imposes | The President, by executive order | The USTR, after a formal investigation |
| Trigger | Declared a national emergency | Finding of unfair foreign trade practice |
| Public comment required | No | Yes |
| Countries covered | Multiple countries, varied by executive order | Primarily China, with new investigations expanding to other countries |
| Duration | Feb. 4, 2025 to Feb. 24, 2026 | July 2018 to present |
| Current status | Terminated; refunds available through CAPE | In force; no refund program |
| Exclusion process | None; CAPE is now the exclusive refund mechanism | Yes, USTR exclusion petitions |
Here's the practical payoff.
If your business imported Chinese goods during the IEEPA period, you likely paid both IEEPA and Section 301 tariffs on the same shipments. CBP guidance confirmed the two regimes stacked.
You can recover the IEEPA portion. You cannot recover the Section 301 portion.
Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum, and standard MFN duties are also unaffected. None of those are part of the refund program.
That means before you can calculate what you're owed, you need to separate the IEEPA duty line from everything else on each entry. Once you've done that, recovery runs through CBP's CAPE system, which launched April 20, 2026, as the exclusive mechanism for filing IEEPA refund claims. Claims are filed through the ACE Portal (account required). Post-summary corrections cannot be used.
How to Tell Which Duties You Paid
Each entry on CBP Form 7501 lists duties by Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) classification. IEEPA duties appear on separate HTS Chapter 99 lines from Section 301 or Section 232 duties.
For a single entry, pulling this apart is straightforward. For a business with hundreds of entries across two years, it's a real project.
The practical steps:
For more on how the refund amount is calculated, see How Is Your Tariff Refund Amount Calculated?.
For whether your business has standing to file, see How to Determine Importer of Record for IEEPA Tariff Refunds.
Section 301 has its own refund pathway. It's narrow.
If a specific product received a USTR exclusion, entries subject to that exclusion may qualify for a refund through a CBP protest filed within 180 days of liquidation. This is a separate legal process from IEEPA refunds.
For the mechanics of filing a CBP protest, see Guide to CBP Protests for IEEPA Tariff Refunds.
If you're unsure whether any of your Section 301 duties qualify for an exclusion-based refund, a review of your product lines against USTR's exclusion list is the place to start.
Can a single shipment be subject to both IEEPA and Section 301 tariffs?
Yes. During the IEEPA period, Chinese-origin goods were often subject to both. CBP guidance confirmed the two regimes stacked. You can recover the IEEPA portion. The Section 301 portion remains owed.
Are Section 301 tariffs going away, too?
No. The Supreme Court ruling in Learning Resources v. Trump applied specifically to IEEPA. Section 301 was imposed under a separate legal authority and remains in force. If anything, Section 301 is expanding. The USTR opened new investigations into 16 countries in early 2026.
How do I know which tariff regime applied to my imports?
Review your CBP entry summaries (Form 7501). IEEPA duties appear on separate HTS Chapter 99 lines from Section 301 duties. You can pull these records from your customs broker or the ACE Portal. For complex import histories, professional review is usually the fastest path.
Is the IEEPA refund process automatic?
No. You have to file. The government does not issue IEEPA refunds without an active claim from the importer of record. For the current deadlines, see IEEPA Tariff Refund Deadline: What Importers Need to Know.
What if I only paid Section 301 tariffs, not IEEPA?
You're not eligible for an IEEPA refund. You may still have options through Section 301 exclusion refunds if your products received a USTR exclusion. That's a narrower pathway with its own deadlines.
Did IEEPA have an exclusion process like Section 301?
No. Section 301 has a formal USTR exclusion petition process. IEEPA had no equivalent mechanism. The only remedy for IEEPA overpayments now is the court-ordered CAPE refund process, which CBP launched April 20, 2026.
Most importers who paid both IEEPA and Section 301 tariffs have never separated the two on their entries. That's the first step toward knowing what your refund is worth, and whether it's worth pursuing.
Ayar Law reviews your actual import records, identifies which duties are recoverable, and handles the entire refund process on your behalf. No upfront fees. We're paid only when you are.
Call us directly: (248) 262-3400
