The Federal Circuit stayed a ruling that struck down 10% Section 122 tariffs while CBP began processing $166 billion in IEEPA refunds, forcing importers onto two legal tracks at once.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit entered an administrative stay on May 12 of the Court of International Trade's May 7 order invalidating tariffs imposed under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, allowing the government to continue collecting the 10% duties while its appeal moves forward [1]. On the same day, U.S. Customs and Border Protection launched Phase 1 of an administrative portal to process approximately $166 billion in refunds owed to importers under a separate, earlier tariff program imposed through the International Emergency Economic Powers Act [1][2]. A status conference on IEEPA refund progress was held concurrently, underscoring the dual-track nature of the litigation and agency response [1].
The Federal Circuit stay follows the CIT's ruling that the Section 122 tariffs lacked statutory authorization, a decision the government moved quickly to challenge [2]. The Court of International Trade is a specialized Article III tribunal with exclusive jurisdiction over customs and international trade matters; the Federal Circuit hears its appeals. The underlying dispute centers on whether the executive branch exceeded its authority under Section 122, which authorizes temporary import surcharges under defined conditions, when it imposed the broad 10% duties at issue [1][2]. The IEEPA refund program is a distinct administrative track, arising from a separate set of tariffs that were previously challenged and resolved, and CBP is now executing court-ordered or otherwise authorized refunds through a phased portal rollout [1].
The stay carries immediate practical consequences for importers. Because the Federal Circuit preserved the Section 122 tariffs during the appeal, importers cannot rely on the CIT's invalidation order to halt duty payments or obtain automatic refunds [2]. Preserving refund rights on Section 122 duties requires affirmative, individual filings at the CIT before applicable statutes of limitations run, while IEEPA refunds proceed through CBP's administrative portal on a separate timeline [1][2]. Practitioners have flagged this as a split-track compliance challenge requiring parallel action on both fronts simultaneously.
What comes next turns on the pace of the Federal Circuit's merits review. The government will file its opening brief defending the Section 122 authority; briefing schedules have not yet been publicly confirmed [2]. On the IEEPA side, CBP's phased portal rollout suggests additional tranches of refund processing beyond Phase 1 [1]. Importers with exposure on either program face filing deadlines that will not pause for appellate resolution, making immediate legal assessment a practical necessity rather than a precaution.