DOJ Seeks to Vacate IEEPA Refund Injunctions
Why Importers Who Haven’t Filed Suit Have the Most at Stake
On August 10, 2026, the Department of Justice filed its opening brief in the consolidated Federal Circuit appeal challenging the Court of International Trade’s universal injunctions governing IEEPA duty refunds. The government’s own brief concedes that those injunctions now matter to exactly one group: importers with finally liquidated entries who have not filed suit. If the Federal Circuit vacates, that group has no administrative path to a refund, because CBP has told the court it lacks statutory authority to reliquidate finally liquidated entries on its own initiative.
Key Takeaways
- The government filed its opening brief on August 10, 2026 in Federal Circuit Nos. 2026-1895, -1897, and -1899, appealing the CIT’s April 17, 2026 universal injunctions entered by Judge Richard K. Eaton.
- The government does not contest importer-specific reliquidation orders. It has stated it intends to comply with them and has not appealed the hundreds already entered.
- By the government’s own framing, the universal injunctions retain force only as to IEEPA refunds on finally liquidated entries belonging to importers who have not sued.
- CBP’s position is that Congress gave it no authority to reliquidate a finally liquidated entry absent a timely protest or reliquidation within 90 days of […]
