Refunding Tariffs 'Not That Hard' for CBP If IEEPA Is Overruled

It won't be difficult for CBP to refund tariffs collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, according to Nicole Bivens Collinson of Sandler Travis.

Collinson, speaking on a Nov. 12 podcast, said that "it's not that hard refunding the tariffs paid under" the IEEPA, "despite what some might be saying." She said that CBP has been through the refund process "a million times, and on a large scale too."

Collinson pointed to the 2018 reauthorization of the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program, which required refunds, and said that CBP managed to send them even without "the electronic transfer of refunds in place." In 2025, it is even easier, she said, as CBP can "unilaterally flag the entries" made under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule heading for the IEEPA tariffs and then "effectuate an electronic funds transfer under the ACH directly into the accounts of those who paid the tariffs. And Bob's your uncle."

"Let's be intellectually honest here," Collinson said. "It is not that difficult."