On October 5, 2026, a group of importers led by V.O.S. Selections filed a brief at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit urging the Court to uphold the Court of International Trade’s (“CIT”) universal injunction directing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) to refund duties imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”) to all affected importers. The government, appealing the CIT’s nationwide order, has argued that the CIT is barred from issuing universal injunctions after the Supreme Court’s Trump v. CASA, Inc., 606 U.S. 831 (2025) decision and contended that CBP cannot reliquidate finally liquidated entries to issue refunds without importer-specific court orders, relying in part on a narrower view of CBP’s reliquidation authority under 19 U.S.C. § 1501.
The importers argued that CBP has broader authority to reliquidate and refund unlawfully collected duties than the government claims, pointing to 19 U.S.C. § 1520(a), which permits refunds when liquidation or reliquidation shows more duties were paid than required by law. The importers contended that CBP wrongly relied on 19 U.S.C. § 1501 and that nothing in the statutory text requires a court order for reliquidation of entries more than 80 days past liquidation when the purpose is to return IEEPA duties.
On the scope of relief, the importers argued the CIT’s exclusive nationwide jurisdiction over tariffs under 28 U.S.C. § 1581 supports nationwide remedies to ensure uniform tariff treatment across the country. The importers emphasized that, beyond the general grant of district-court-like powers in 28 U.S.C. § 1585, Congress separately authorized the CIT in 28 U.S.C. § 2643(c)(1) to order any appropriate relief, including injunctions, which they described as a distinct and broader remedial grant. They argued CASA focused on district court authority under the Judiciary Act of 1789 and does not limit the CIT and added that even under CASA’s “complete relief” framework, broad refunds are necessary because tariff costs were passed through the supply chain and affected prices paid throughout the market.
The case will now be reviewed by the Federal Circuit with a decision forthcoming.
The Husch Blackwell International Trade and Supply Chain team will continue to monitor this and provide updates as they become available. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your Husch Blackwell attorney.