Appellate Court Accelerates Process for Tariff Refund Lawsuits
Yesterday, March 2, 2026, the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit) issued mandates in cases that resulted in the Supreme Court’s February 20, 2026, decision striking down the IEEPA tariffs (which we discussed in our recent Client Alert). The mandates return the cases to the US Court of International Trade (CIT) to determine potential injunctive relief and refunds. This accelerates the process for companies who wish to seek refunds by filing lawsuits at the CIT.
The Federal Circuit granted importers’ motion for an immediate mandate and rejected the government's request for delay in considering next steps, bluntly stating: "The mandates shall issue forthwith."
As one pundit summarized, the court said, “enough.” The government's arguments for delay were juxtaposed against the needs of importers, who are in search of fast and efficient recovery of IEEPA tariff refunds.
The Supreme Court has up to 32 days to issue a formal judgment pushing the Learning Resources / V.O.S. Selections IEEPA cases back down to the lower courts. Typically, the Federal Circuit does not issue a mandate until after the formal Supreme Court judgment, and then the Federal Circuit has an additional 90 days to issue the mandate.
Instead of waiting that long, importers led by V.O.S. Selections filed a motion with the Federal Circuit asking that court to expedite the process, and the court listened. On Monday, March 2, the Federal Circuit issued the mandates returning the cases to the CIT. The CIT also should soon lift its blanket stay on other IEEPA tariff lawsuits. The CIT must now address the issue of the injunction preventing collection of IEEPA tariffs (which is now moot for all intents and purposes given the Presidential Executive Orders and Proclamation referenced in our last Client Alert), and more importantly, refunds. While the government pushed for the courts to delay action for the full 122 days, the court’s words in fact indicate that enough is enough, but by acting this quickly and in this way, perhaps a more appropriate summary is, “no chance”!
All signs from the courts and the Government indicate that companies must file lawsuits to seek refunds at this point. The mandates greenlight the CIT to move forward on adjudicating those lawsuits. Companies should carefully consider whether and when they want to file lawsuits to claim refunds in light of these quickly progressing developments.
Butzel’s experienced International Trade, Tariffs, and Customs Specialty Team is ready to assist clients with a unique rapid-response strategy for swiftly filing such lawsuits.
For more information and assistance, please contact the authors or your Butzel attorney.
Mitchell Zajac
313.225.7059
zajac@butzel.com
Jennifer M. Smith-Veluz
202.454.2885
smithveluz@butzel.com
Catherine M. Karol
313.225.5308
karol@butzel.com
