US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has not yet updated its Cargo Systems Messaging Service to remove the tariffs. Under US trade policy, Customs must formally post updates before changes take effect.
In a bulletin issued Friday, CBP said it is reviewing, along with other government agencies, the implications of the Supreme Court decision and will provide technical guidance to Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) filers once available.
Read more: Here’s the full text of the US Supreme Court’s decision on Trump tariffs
Customs officials told CNBC that this remains the latest guidance for importers, who must continue declaring IEEPA tariff codes to secure cargo clearance.
According to CNBC, Lori Mullins, director of operations at Rogers & Brown Custom Brokers, said, “Customs has not removed the requirement to report the IEEPA tariff codes in order to obtain a release of goods, so for cargo to continue moving, the IEEPA tariffs are still being reported on entries.”
She added that the industry is awaiting confirmation that entries can be processed without the tariffs, but “as of now, that change has not been made, and Customs still requires them.”
Read more: Trump adds a 10% tariff on all imports three days from now
Customs brokers and trade lawyers say the key issue now is how CBP will process cargo entries cleared over the past 10 days that are scheduled for payment next week.
According to Vizion’s Tradeview platform, roughly 2,11,000 containers valued at about $8.2 billion arrived at US ports between Friday and Sunday.
Importers have a 10-day window to pay tariffs after cargo release. Mullins explained that no funds are transferred until day 10, and entry summaries can be amended up to nine days after release before payment is due. After payment, companies must seek refunds through post-summary corrections.
Michael Lowell, partner and chair of the Global Regulatory Enforcement Group at Reed Smith, told CNBC it will likely take time for Customs to update its systems.
“It’ll likely take Customs some time to reconfigure their system to reflect the Court’s ruling,” he said, noting that importers may initially file paperwork including the tariff and later submit corrections before payment.
However, Lowell cautioned that the volume of corrections could cause delays. “Corrections usually take within a couple of weeks, up to 30 days,” he said, adding that the scale of the issue may slow processing.
Further uncertainty surrounds potential refunds, which were not addressed by the Supreme Court and will instead be handled by the US Court of International Trade (CIT).
Ben Bidwell, senior director for Customs at CH Robinson, said, “This is the first time a tariff has been declared unconstitutional with this amount of money at stake.” He said it remains unclear whether the CIT will allow widespread refunds or whether refunds will be available at all.
In a Q&A session on the Supreme Court ruling cited by CNBC, transportation and fulfilment services giant Kuehne + Nagel said the CIT is expected to oversee any refund mechanism but warned that no timeline has been set, and a high volume of claims could result in lengthy delays.
