The Daily Fuckup

Customs and Border Protection is building a refund process for importers who paid tariffs that courts later found unlawful. That process is separate from the White House’s February 20, 2026 temporary import duty, which was issued under section 122 and took effect February 24. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/08861f153801156d213c30c4e2f6a683?utm_source=openai))

That distinction is the whole story. A refund mechanism does not mean the February duty has been rolled back. The White House’s February action created a temporary surcharge with listed exceptions and a 150-day limit, while CBP’s refund work is aimed at duties that were invalidated in litigation and now need to be unwound entry by entry. ([whitehouse.gov](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/02/imposing-a-temporary-import-surcharge-to-address-fundamental-international-payments-problems/?utm_source=openai))

The timing also matters. The February duty began on February 24, 2026. On April 2, the White House separately issued a proclamation that strengthened section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminum, and copper, with higher duties applying to covered goods entered on or after April 6. That was a different legal authority and a different tariff stack, not part of the refund case. ([whitehouse.gov](https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/02/imposing-a-temporary-import-surcharge-to-address-fundamental-international-payments-problems/?utm_source=openai))

For importers, the practical question is not whether tariffs exist in the abstract. It is which tariff applied to which shipment, under what authority, and whether that duty is one of the ones a court has already thrown out. CBP’s ACH refund system shows how the government plans to send money back; it does not erase every other tariff the administration has put in place this year. ([cbp.gov](https://www.cbp.gov/trade/automated/ach/refund?utm_source=openai))

That leaves businesses with overlapping rules and separate deadlines. One set of duties may be headed for refunds. Another is still active. The paperwork is where the difference shows up, and that is where the real tariff fight is now being decided. ([whitehouse.gov](https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2026/02/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-imposes-a-temporary-import-duty-to-address-fundamental-international-payment-problems/?utm_source=openai))