What Are IEEPA Tariff Claims and Are Yours Worth Money?
A plain-English explanation of IEEPA tariff claims — what they are, how they arise, and why importers who paid duties in 2025 may be sitting on recoverable value.
What is an IEEPA tariff?
In early 2025 the White House invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose sweeping new tariffs on imports from dozens of countries. Unlike traditional trade-remedy duties that target specific products, IEEPA tariffs were applied on a broad, country-wide basis — affecting everything from raw materials to consumer electronics.
If your company imported goods from any of the affected countries since the tariffs took effect, U.S. Customs collected additional duties on those shipments. Those payments may now form the basis of a recoverable legal claim.
Why do importers have a "claim"?
Multiple federal lawsuits — including cases before the Court of International Trade — argue that IEEPA was never intended to authorize tariffs. The statute was designed for financial sanctions (asset freezes, transaction blocks), not for setting trade policy. Courts have begun issuing favorable rulings, which means importers who paid these duties may be entitled to refunds.
Your IEEPA tariff claim is essentially the right to recover those excess duties — either through litigation, administrative protest, or by selling the claim to an institutional buyer.
How do I know if I have one?
You likely have an IEEPA tariff claim if:
- Your company imported goods into the United States after the IEEPA tariffs took effect (April 2025 onward).
- You paid duties above the pre-IEEPA rate on those imports.
- The country of origin was subject to the IEEPA executive order (China, EU, Vietnam, and others).
The value of your claim is generally the difference between what you paid and what the duty would have been under the prior tariff schedule, across all affected entries.
What is a claim actually worth?
Claim values vary widely. A small importer with a handful of shipments might have a claim worth $50,000–$250,000. Large importers — particularly those bringing in electronics, auto parts, industrial components, or consumer goods from China — may hold claims worth millions of dollars.
The exact value depends on:
- Total duties paid under IEEPA tariff orders
- Number of affected entries
- Product classification and applicable tariff differential
- Whether protests were timely filed with CBP
Why might a claim be "worth money" right now?
Because litigation is still ongoing, there is inherent uncertainty in recovery. Institutional buyers — hedge funds, litigation-finance firms, and specialty purchasers — are willing to pay importers today for the right to pursue those claims. This gives importers a guaranteed cash recovery without waiting years for court outcomes.
Think of it like selling a lottery ticket that has better-than-average odds: you trade some upside for certainty.
Next steps
If you think you may have an IEEPA tariff claim, the first step is to pull your CBP entry summaries (CF-7501s) for all affected shipments and calculate the total duties paid above the baseline rate. From there, you can submit your claim to our team for a free, no-obligation assessment.
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