CIT Invalidates Section 122 Tariffs, Importers Must Continue Paying Duties for Now
The U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) issued a decision finding that President Trump’s 10% tariff on most U.S. imports, imposed under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, was unlawful. The tariffs had been implemented following the Supreme Court’s Feb. 20, 2026, decision invalidating tariffs previously imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
Although the court found the tariffs unlawful, the immediate relief granted by the injunction currently applies only to the specific plaintiffs covered by the case. This is not applicable to all importers. The government is expected to appeal the decision.
At this time, importers should continue paying Section 122 duties upon entry unless and until further judicial or administrative guidance is issued.
Additionally, administration officials have also indicated that alternative trade authorities, including expanding Section 301, may remain available to pursue broader trade policy objectives if the Section 122 tariffs are ultimately invalidated for all importers. There are two active Section 301 investigations currently in progress:
- Section 301 | Failure to Impose and Effectively Enforce a Prohibition on the Importation of Goods Produced with Forced Labor: Initiated March 12, 2026
- Section 301 | Structural Excess Capacity and Production in Manufacturing Sectors: Initiated March 11, 2026
Monitoring CAPE Claims in ACE
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released a bulletin to the trade community advising of newly created Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) reports, available in the reports module, to track Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) claims. Below is an overview of the available reports:
- ES-022 (CAPE entry summary) report: This report links CAPE declaration, entry and refund numbers to help track the refund process and displays refund amounts separated by principal and interest.
- REV-603 (trade refund) report: This report enables trade users to track CAPE declarations that have one of the following “refund secondary statuses” after the refund is received by Treasury.
- Sent to Treasury: This status indicates that Treasury has received an approved refund claim.
- Treasury issued: This status indicates that a refund has been issued.
- Funds diverted: This status indicates that funds have been diverted for an existing bill. Diversion occurs after liquidation of the entry summary, before the refund is issued.
- Check/automated clearing house (ACH) returned: This status occurs when refunds are rejected due to incomplete ACH refund enrollment.
- REV-613 (ACH rejected refunds) report: This report provides information on refunds that have been rejected due to incomplete ACH refund enrollment.
- REV-615 (CAPE details refunds) report: Building on the REV-603 report, this report provides entry summary-level details associated with CAPE declarations that have been sent to Treasury.
USMCA Joint Review Update
On July 1, 2026, the United States, Mexico and Canada will engage in the first mandatory joint review process of its kind in a U.S. free trade agreement. Under Article 34.7 of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), the agreement will automatically extend for another 16 years if the United States, Mexico and Canada all confirm in writing that they wish to continue the USMCA free trade agreement; otherwise, annual reviews will occur until either consensus to extend the agreement is reached (after which the parties will return to a six-year joint review cycle) or until USMCA terminates in 2036.
As of today, the United States and Mexico have entered into bilateral discussions in advance of the USCMA joint review. The United States and Canada have not yet engaged in similar discussions.
CPSC E-Filing is 2 Months Away
Effective July 8, 2026, any product subject to a rule, ban, standard or regulation enforced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) must be covered by an electronically filed certificate at the time of entry.
While certain Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes will begin flagging on July 8 for CPSC requirements, it is important to note that these flags are not exhaustive. HTS codes will begin flagging for the following product categories:
- All-terrain vehicles
- Bicycle helmets
- Bicycles
- Button cell and coin batteries
- CB antennae
- Carpets and rugs
- Carriages and strollers
- Child chairs
- Cigarettes and multipurpose lighters
- Clothing
- Drywall
- Fireworks
- Gates and enclosures
- Imitation jewelry
- Infant sleep products
- Lawn mowers
- Matchbooks
- Mattresses
- Other children’s furniture
- Pacifiers
- Poison prevention packaging
- Shoes
- Toys
Products may still be subject to e-filing requirements even if the HTS code does not flag, depending on the nature of the product. This commonly includes items subject to garment and apparel flammability standards, chemical restrictions (such as lead or phthalates), products for children 12 and under, and items containing button cell or coin batteries.
For CPSC reporting, entries may be filed using either a full partner government agency (PGA) message set or a reference PGA message set. A full message set includes all required certificate data elements transmitted directly at the time of entry filing. In contrast, a reference message set allows the filer to transmit key identifiers (the certifier ID, product ID and version ID) that link to certificate data already stored in the CPSC product registry. Most filers are expected to use the reference message set, as it is more efficient and reduces data entry by leveraging preregistered product information. CPSC also recommends including these three identifiers on the commercial invoice or packing list. Including this information can help expedite document reviews and reduce the likelihood of delays.
At this time, CPSC is operating under a voluntary e-filing phase. During this period, errors in submitted data will not impact importer risk scores or cause shipment delays, as the program is intended to support testing and implementation.
Recommended next steps include:
- Identifying which of your products are subject to CPSC requirements and what the requirements are (i.e., laboratory testing)
- Confirming whether the General Certificate of Conformity (GCC) or Children’s Product Certificate (CPC) applies
- Establishing a process to manage the product registry and certifier ID, product ID and version ID
- Considering adding this information to your commercial documents
