What Every Multinational Should Know About … The Emerging Battle Over Who Ultimately Keeps IEEPA Tariffs

Short summary

As IEEPA tariff refunds flow from CBP, a new litigation wave emerges: disputes between importers and downstream parties (customers, suppliers, retailers) over refund ownership. While customs law favors the importer of record, commercial reality is messier—tariff costs often shifted through supply chains. Courts will likely decide case-by-case based on contracts and cost allocation, while consumer class actions face steep evidentiary burdens.

• •IEEPA tariff refunds are triggering ownership disputes between importers and customers/suppliers.
• •CBP favors the importer of record, but contractual claims and cost-sharing arrangements complicate economic burden allocation.
• •Consumer class action lawsuits face obstacles proving tariff-to-price causation amid broader pricing factors.

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