Are Section 301 tariffs included in the IEEPA refund?

Why Section 301 is different

Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 USC 2411) authorizes the USTR to impose tariffs in response to unfair foreign trade practices. It was the basis for the 2018-2019 China tariffs (Lists 1 through 4A) that remain on thousands of HTSUS lines today. These tariffs were imposed after formal USTR investigation under Section 301 procedures and are not constitutionally challenged.

IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 50 USC 1701) is a different statute. The 2025 IEEPA tariffs bypassed USTR process and relied on an emergency declaration. The Supreme Court held 6-3 on February 20, 2026 that this use of IEEPA exceeded executive authority, striking down the IEEPA duties. Section 301 was untouched.

What this means for your refund analysis

When you pull your ACE entry data, you will often see multiple duty lines on a single entry:

Only the IEEPA line refunds through CAPE Phase 1.

The refund math in practice

Example: An importer of $1M in China-origin electronics during the IEEPA window might see:

• MFN rate at 2.6 percent = $26,000 (keep)
• Section 301 List 3 at 25 percent = $250,000 (keep)
• IEEPA add-on at 10 percent = $100,000 (refund)
• MPF 0.3464 percent = $3,464 (separate, see MPF and HMF refunds)

CAPE refunds $100,000 of the IEEPA duty. Section 301 and MFN remain. For help modeling the split see the IEEPA refund calculator.

Can Section 301 tariffs ever be refunded

Three narrow paths, none of which are CAPE-driven:

1. Exclusion requests — USTR occasionally opens exclusion windows where specific HTS subheadings can be granted refund eligibility. As of April 2026, there is no active exclusion window for Section 301. Check USTR Federal Register notices.
2. Misclassification — If your broker entered the wrong HTS and the correct HTS was not subject to Section 301, file a CF-19 protest within 180 days of liquidation or a PSC within 300 days of entry.
3. Court challenge — HMTX Industries and other litigation challenged the List 3 and List 4A imposition procedurally. Importers that filed suit by the September 2020 deadline may eventually see List 3/4A refunds if the Court of International Trade rules in their favor. New importers cannot join; the statute of limitations closed.

Section 232 is also not included

Steel and aluminum tariffs under Section 232 (19 USC 1862) are also outside CAPE. The Section 232 exclusion program closed for new requests on February 10, 2025. See Section 232 exclusion status.

Don't overclaim

The most common mistake we see on self-filed CAPE claims is including the full duty paid when only the IEEPA line is refundable. CBP's automated matching catches this, the claim gets bounced, and the importer has to refile. Always break out the IEEPA portion from the entry summary line detail before submitting.

Calculate your tariff refund → /calculators/ieepa-refund

Related questions

Who qualifies for the IEEPA refund? US importers of record who paid IEEPA duties in the window. See who qualifies.

Can I still get a Section 232 exclusion? No, the window closed Feb 10, 2025. See Section 232 exclusion.

What entries are CAPE Phase 1 eligible? Unliquidated IEEPA-window entries. See CAPE eligibility.

Not legal advice. Customs business performed by licensed customs broker partners under 19 CFR 111.