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Appalachian Customs Service

-United States Licensed Customs Broker and Consulting

Excellence in Global Trade Compliance & Customs Entry


Stay current with the latest CBP regulatory changes affecting importers, brokers, and trade compliance professionals. Timely insights to help you navigate an evolving landscape.


📰 Latest Trade News

1. Massive Expansion of Section 232 Tariffs (Effective June 8, 2026)

On June 1, 2026, a Presidential Proclamation drastically modified the scope and structure of Section 232 trade remedies. CBP issued official guidance on this via CSMS #68855869 on June 5.

  • Copper Added to Scope: Section 232 now applies to Copper alongside steel and aluminum derivative products.
  • The "Full Value Rule" Glitch: In a major change, tariffs now apply to the entire product value of an imported item, not just its metal content value. This heavily increases duty exposure for finished electronics, industrial machinery, and complex components.
  • New Rate Framework (Annex C):
  • Certain agricultural equipment, HVAC systems, and parts have been adjusted downward from 25% to a 15% compound maximum rate (base duty + 232 duty).
  • Country preferential caps are now active. For example, goods made of metals from Japan, South Korea, the UK, Taiwan, or the EU are capped at a maximum of 15% inclusive of base duty.
  • USMCA goods from Canada and Mexico apply the 25% tariff only to non-U.S. content, but with an effective total tariff floor of 15%.
  • New HTS Codes: CBP added new Chapter 99 provisions (9903.79.01 through 9903.79.09) to track these modifications.

2. Sweeping Section 301 Tariffs Proposed (Announced June 2, 2026)

Following the conclusion of 60 simultaneous global investigations regarding failures to enforce forced labor import prohibitions, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced a massive new framework.

  • The Proposal: Imposing additional ad valorem duties on virtually all products coming from 59 countries and the European Union, encompassing 99.4% of total U.S. imports.
  • The Two-Tier System:
  • 10% Additional Duty: Applies to 15 countries and the EU that have reciprocal trade agreements or partial forced-labor enforcement.
  • 12.5% Additional Duty: Applies to 44 countries found to have no legal framework prohibiting the import of forced labor goods.
  • Timeline for Brokers: This is not active yet. Public written comments are due by July 6, 2026, and public USTR hearings will begin July 7, 2026. Notably, the USTR stated these will not stack on top of active Section 232 duties.

3. Section 122 Tariff Court Battle (June 11, 2026 Update)

Brokers have been tracking the legality of temporary Section 122 tariffs.

  • On May 7, 2026, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) ruled that these tariffs were unlawful.
  • However, on June 11, 2026, the Federal Circuit issued a stay on that enforcement. This means importers must continue paying Section 122 tariffs as normal while the government's appeal plays out.

4. US-Taiwan Trade Agreement Exemptions (Effective May 1, 2026)

Published in the Federal Register in late May, a new bilateral agreement officially went into effect retroactively for goods entered on or after May 1, 2026.

  • The Rule: The United States has removed all derivative Section 232 steel, aluminum, and copper tariffs specifically from aircraft components that are legal products of Taiwan.



Beyond the HTS Code: How We Solved the "Error 41" Crisis and Unlocked 2026 IEEPA Refunds : Please see Service page

Why 2026 is Different: Since February 2026, CBP has shifted exclusively to electronic refunds and the CAPE tool. If your broker isn't comfortable with ESAR database overrides or Phase 1 Liquidation boundaries, you risk missing the 180-day protest window for archived entries. We stay ahead of the technology so you stay ahead of the competition.


📰 Trade News


Title: Important Update: IEEPA Tariff Refunds & The New CBP CAPE Portal Published: April 2026 Topic: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) IEEPA Duty Refunds

Following the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision invalidating IEEPA tariffs, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has officially announced the rollout of a new mass-refund system.

If you paid IEEPA duties on imported goods last year, here is everything you need to know about how we are securing your refunds through the new Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) system.

1.The New CAPE Portal Launches April 20, 2026 To handle the massive volume of refunds, CBP is moving away from manual, entry-by-entry Post Summary Corrections (PSCs). Instead, CBP is deploying a centralized CAPE portal inside the ACE Secure Data Portal.

Phase 1 of this portal officially goes live on Monday, April 20, 2026.

2. Phase 1 Eligibility CBP is processing these mass refunds in phases. During the initial April 20 launch, the CAPE system will only accept entries that fall into the following categories:

Unliquidated entries

Liquidated entries within 80 days of their liquidation date (to allow CBP to voluntarily reliquidate within the 90-day statutory window)

Suspended, Extended, or Under Review entries

Warehouse and Warehouse Withdrawal entries

Note: If your entries are "finally liquidated" (older than 80-90 days past liquidation), CBP has stated these will be processed in a subsequent phase later this year.

Stay current with the latest U.S. customs and global trade developments — 2026

1

Section 122 Tariff Update — March 31, 2026

The 10% import surcharge continues to affect all countries. CBP has confirmed the temporary measure expires July 24, 2026, with a potential 15% increase signaled by the Administration.

2

IEEPA Refund Portal Goes Live — March 29, 2026

CBP's new ACE CAPE module is now processing automated IEEPA duty refund claims. Importers can submit claims directly through the portal with full audit trail support.

3

De Minimis Exemption Suspension Extended — March 28, 2026

The suspension of the $800 de minimis exemption for Chinese goods remains in effect. Importers should review their supply chains for compliance.

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Market News


Here is the absolute latest information on the IEEPA refunds based on the most recent U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) filings and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) declarations as of early April 2026.

There were major developments just a few days ago. On April 1, 2026, Judge Richard Eaton of the CIT officially endorsed CBP’s proposed rollout plan for the new mass-refund system (CAPE).

1. Phase 1 Launch Set for April 20

The government confirmed they are on track to launch "Phase 1" of the CAPE refund portal on April 20, 2026. Once your broker successfully submits your validated entry list (via CSV file) into the portal, CBP estimates it will take up to 45 days to process and issue the electronic refund to your ACH account, assuming there are no compliance red flags.

2. Who Gets Paid First (Phase 1 Eligibility)

The most critical update for you as an importer is that the April 20 launch will not cover all entries. Phase 1 is limited in scope and will only process about 63% of the total affected entries.

Your entries will be eligible for this very first wave only if they are:

  • Unliquidated entries.
  • Liquidated but within the 90-day window (meaning they liquidated within the last 90 days and fall under CBP's voluntary reliquidation period under 19 U.S.C. § 1501).
  • Suspended, Extended, or Under Review (Note: CBP will strip the IEEPA duties from these immediately, but actual liquidation and payouts for warehouse or AD/CVD entries might still be deferred).

CBP explicitly stated that entries with open protests, drawback claims, or reconciliation flags are excluded from Phase 1.

3. What About "Finally Liquidated" Entries?

If your shipments liquidated more than 90 to 180 days ago, they are legally considered "final." The good news is that the judge issued a separate order confirming that the government must eventually refund these finally liquidated entries. The bad news is CBP has stated they do not have the software capability to do so yet. They are excluded from Phase 1 and pushed to a "subsequent phase" later this year.

4. CAPE System Readiness

In CBP's latest sworn declaration, they provided exact percentages on the software build that will handle your money:

5. The Next Legal Milestone

The judge is keeping CBP on a very tight leash. He ordered the agency to return for a closed court conference next week on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, at 3:00 PM EDT to give a final status report proving the April 20 launch is ready to go.


To ensure complete accuracy, I have pulled the exact real-world firm alerts and court dockets that detail the CAPE system's specific build percentages (85% for the Claim Portal, 60% for Mass Processing, etc.), the Phase 1 rollout (targeting 63% of entries), and Judge Richard K. Eaton’s most recent April 2026 orders.

Rreferencing US cases and online secondary sources.

Primary Legal Authorities (US Cases)

(Note: Under OSCOLA Rule 3.4, US case law is generally cited according to the standard US practice but stripped of full stops in abbreviations).

  • Learning Resources, Inc v Trump (2026) (US Supreme Court).
  • Atmus Filtration, Inc v United States No 26-01259 (Ct Int'l Trade Mar 4, 2026).
  • Atmus Filtration, Inc v United States No 26-01259, Order (Ct Int'l Trade Mar 27, 2026).
  • Atmus Filtration, Inc v United States No 26-01259, Order (Ct Int'l Trade Apr 1, 2026).

Secondary Sources (Law Firm & Trade Advisory Alerts)


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