On June 2, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) on behalf of the Trump administration formally appealed at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Federal Circuit”) the order of Senior Judge Richard Eaton of the U.S. Court of International Trade (“CIT”) compelling U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) to refund importers of record $166 billion in International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”) tariffs that the U.S. Supreme Court declared unlawful in February (see Update of February 24, 2026).
In its June 2 filing, the DOJ appealed both the universal IEEPA tariff refund order and the CIT order compelling CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott’s testimony. The DOJ also filed a motion at the Federal Circuit asking for an expedited ruling on the CBP Commissioner’s testimony issue by Friday, June 5, to give DOJ officials time to decide whether to seek Supreme Court intervention before the CIT’s June 9 hearing scheduled with the CBP Commissioner.
The DOJ’s appeal specifically targets the CIT’s claim of universal injunction, which directs IEEPA tariff refunds for all importers of record, including those for non-litigants of “finally liquidated” entries past 90 days post-liquidation. The DOJ argues that under the Supreme Court’s Trump v. CASA, Inc. decision, federal courts lack the power to issue universal injunctions that apply to non-parties. However, Judge Eaton has reasoned that CASA’s prohibition does not apply to the CIT because of the court’s exclusive nationwide jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1581 and the U.S. Constitution’s Uniformity Clause.
The appeal threatens to disrupt a refund mechanism that has already begun refunding money to businesses via the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (“CAPE”) system. CBP has reported that it has already accepted billions of dollars in refund claims and has approved billions of dollars for disbursement.
On May 27, Judge Eaton issued a show cause order directing CBP to explain why the suspension order should remain in place. The show cause order requires the CBP Commissioner to appear in person before the court on June 9 to answer questions regarding the agency’s implementation of the tariff refund process (see Update of June 1, 2026).
On May 29, the DOJ filed a motion at the CIT indicating that it planned to appeal the CIT injunction requiring CBP to refund duties under the IEEPA and arguing that the CBP Commissioner cannot be ordered to testify unless under extraordinary circumstances because he is Senate-confirmed. Judge Eaton denied this motion, leaving in place both the requirement that the CBP Commissioner appear and the injunction’s mandate that CBP reliquidate all entries subject to IEEPA duties, including finally liquidated entries.
In the DOJ’s May 29 filing, it organized IEEPA refunds into three categories:
- Category 1 – Unliquidated entries. CBP is already processing refunds for this category through the CAPE system and represents it is “already in the process of refunding approximately $85 billion.” The Trump administration does not contest its obligation to refund these entries.
- Category 2 – Finally liquidated entries where importers have filed a suit. The Trump administration’s position is that these require “importer-specific orders requiring reliquidation” and that additional system enhancements are needed.
- Category 3 – Finally liquidated entries where importers have not filed suit. The Trump administration contends that the CIT’s claim of universal injunction ordering CBP to refund these entries “exceeds the Court’s jurisdiction and equitable authority” under Trump v. CASA, Inc.