Wednesday, June 18, 2026 | 2 Stories
TODAY’S BRIEFING:
1. ⚠ IEEPA Refund Update: CAPE Phase 2 On Track for June 29 — What Importers Need to Know
2. ⚠ CPSC Mandatory eFiling Starts July 8 — 20 Days to Comply or Face Shipment Holds
Story 1 — IEEPA Tariff Refunds / CAPE
IEEPA Refund Update: CAPE Phase 2 On Track for June 29 — What Importers Need to Know
The U.S. Court of International Trade has issued another update on the CAPE IEEPA refund process, and if you have entries in the system, this one matters.
Following a June 11 conference, the CIT confirmed that CBP has processed CAPE declarations covering approximately $94.94 billion in anticipated IEEPA duty refunds since the portal launched April 20, 2026. Important distinction: that figure reflects declarations processed — not dollars paid out. The claim has been accepted — not the check cleared.
The headline: CAPE Phase 2 remains on schedule for June 29, 2026.
What Every Importer Needs to Understand:
- Phase 2 will expand CAPE coverage to reconciliation-flagged entries where no Type 09 reconciliation entry has yet been filed.
- It will also capture entries that remain unliquidated or are within 80 days of liquidation — entries that fell outside Phase 1 scope.
- CBP is continuing to build functionality for protested entries, meaningful for importers watching liquidation deadlines closely.
- The CIT has set three additional calendar dates: a status conference June 25, a government progress report due July 1, and a settlement conference July 9.
Actionable Recommendations:
- If you have reconciliation-flagged entries from the IEEPA period, confirm with your customs broker whether they fall within Phase 2 eligibility before June 29.
- Review your entry liquidation status now — entries within 80 days of liquidation as of June 29 may qualify for Phase 2 processing.
- Ensure your ACE Portal ACH banking information is current and enrollment is complete — refunds are issued electronically only.
- Monitor CBP’s IEEPA Duty Refunds page at cbp.gov for Phase 2 filing instructions ahead of the June 29 launch.
- If you have protested entries, consult your broker or trade counsel on how the ongoing CAPE build-out may affect your timeline.
Executive Insight:
CAPE is not a one-time event — it is a phased process, and Phase 2 represents a meaningful expansion of who can access refunds. The $166 billion in IEEPA duties collected across 330,000 importers will not be resolved in a single launch. Importers who stay engaged with the process, keep their ACE enrollment current, and work closely with their customs broker will be positioned to recover what they are owed. June 29 is the next major date. Mark it.
Source: U.S. Court of International Trade, June 11, 2026 Conference Order; CBP IEEPA Duty Refunds page — cbp.gov; Thompson Hine SmarTrade (June 2026); Holland & Knight Trade Alert (June 2026).
Story 2 — CBP / ACE / Consumer Product Compliance
CPSC Mandatory eFiling Starts July 8 — 20 Days to Comply or Face Shipment Holds at the Port
If your company imports consumer products into the United States, a significant compliance deadline is 20 days away — and many importers are not ready.
Beginning July 8, 2026, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) requires mandatory electronic filing of Certificate of Compliance data through CBP’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) at the time of customs entry. Paper certificates alone will no longer be sufficient. This is not a proposal — it is a finalized federal rule published January 8, 2025, and the voluntary phase ends July 8.
What Every Importer Needs to Understand:
- The rule applies to all CPSC-regulated consumer products: children’s products requiring a Children’s Product Certificate (CPC) and general-use products requiring a General Certificate of Conformity (GCC).
- Certificate data must be transmitted electronically before or at the time of entry filing — not after the fact.
- De minimis shipments are NOT exempt. If your product requires a certificate, eFiling is mandatory regardless of shipment value.
- Your customs broker cannot file a compliant entry without receiving the required certificate data from you in advance.
- Seven data elements are required: Product ID, applicable safety standards (Citation Codes), Manufacturing Date, Manufacturing Location, Test Date, Testing Laboratory details, and Point of Contact.
- Products entering via Foreign Trade Zone have until January 8, 2027.
Actionable Recommendations:
- Identify every product you import that is subject to a CPSC mandatory safety standard.
- Contact your customs broker today to confirm your eFiling setup is in place before July 8.
- Register your products in CPSC’s Product Registry to obtain reference IDs — the most efficient path for multi-SKU importers.
- Transmit the seven required data elements to your broker for every covered SKU before shipments arrive.
- Do not wait — non-compliant shipments arriving on or after July 8 face port holds, delayed release, and increased CPSC scrutiny.
Executive Insight:
This rule does not change what products need to be tested or certified — it changes when and how that certification data reaches CBP and CPSC. The shift from paper-on-request to mandatory electronic transmission at entry is a fundamental change in how consumer product compliance works at the border. Importers who treat this as a documentation update rather than an operational change will find out on July 8 that their shipments are sitting at the port. The time to act is now.
Source: CPSC Final Rule, 16 CFR Part 1110 (Federal Register, January 8, 2025); CBP ACE PGA Message Set Documentation; FedEx Regulatory Alert (June 2026); GDLSK International Trade Alert (May 2026).
This post is produced for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, regulatory, or customs compliance advice. All information is sourced from publicly available government and reputable industry sources as cited. Trade regulations and tariff rates are subject to change without notice. Readers should consult a licensed customs broker or trade attorney regarding specific transactions and compliance obligations. Cargotron Inc. assumes no liability for actions taken based on this publication.
Cargotron Inc. | Brian Meng, Licensed Customs Broker
BMENG@CARGOTRON-US.COM | 626-808-1819 | cargotron-us.com