U.S. Customs launches system to refund Canadian exporters billions from illegal tariffs

After the Supreme Court deemed tariffs imposed under the IEEPA illegal, U.S. Customs and Border Protection introduced the CAPE system to return roughly $10 billion owed to Canadian exporters. CAPE processes refunds for most recent entries, including those withdrawn from bonded warehouses, while older entries that have been finally liquidated are excluded and now subject to an appeal to the Federal Circuit. The Court of International Trade ordered a broad refund, but the government contends that only the parties before the court are entitled, a view the CIT has opposed.

CBP is handling refunds in grouped batches, with payments typically appearing in importers' accounts within about two weeks. Companies face challenges if they lack access to their ACE portal, as each broker can only file refunds for entries it submitted. Errors in entries must be corrected via a protest within 180 days after liquidation, since post-summary corrections are not permitted. The litigation and administrative process together determine how quickly exporters receive their money.