Many Won’t Recover a Dime from IEEPA Tariffs

The Supreme Court Ruled Them Illegal – Companies Still Must Beat Deadlines

The Supreme Court just erased $170 billion in IEEPA tariffs.

Some companies won’t get a dollar back.

The ruling created one of the largest recovery opportunities in recent trade history. More than 300,000 importers could be eligible to reclaim duties they already paid.

While that sounds straightforward, refunds aren’t automatic, and filing requirements vary. And, as has been the case since President Trump enacted these tariffs using the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), litigation is possible.

Companies with small claims – $50,000 or $100,000 – might decide it’s too complex to pursue. Others will miss the deadlines.

Some will assume their broker is handling it. Others won’t realize they had exposure in the first place.

And by the time they take a closer look, the window will close.

Tompkins Ventures helps companies move before that happens – whether by managing claims end to end, turning expected refunds into near-term cash or enabling brokers and forwarders to offer recovery services to their clients.

What’s Everyone Asking About IEEPA Tariffs

Across importers, private equity firms and service providers, the same questions keep coming up:

1. “How do we get our money back?”

2. “What do we tell clients who want their money back?”

It sounds simple.

It isn’t.

Each claim sits inside a different set of entries, timelines and documentation requirements. Most are still open, but some have already closed. And every claim requires work just to determine eligibility.

Before companies even begin filing, they run into a more basic problem.

In most organizations, no one clearly owns tariffs.

Do they sit with finance? Supply chain? Legal? Operations? Somewhere between procurement and compliance? In many organizations, IEEPA tariff responsibility splits across functions that don’t operate on the same timelines or priorities.

So the company passes the question around.

Finance looks at exposure. Supply chain looks at entries. Legal looks at risk. Operations stays focused on keeping product moving.

Meanwhile, nothing moves on the refunds.

And that’s before filings begin.

From there, the process branches. Different strategies, timelines and, in some cases, different legal paths. What looks like one opportunity quickly turns into a series of decisions most teams are not set up to make.

So companies pause.

They wait for clarity. Or assume someone else owns it. Or they push it behind more immediate priorities.

And that’s where recovery breaks down.

Without structure, the process slows, stalls and often disappears.

Three Ways Companies Capture Value from IEEPA Tariffs

End-to-End Tariff Recovery

Some organizations decide to run the full process from start to finish.

That begins with reconstructing import history. Teams must pull, clean and match entry data against tariff payments. Then comes calculation – what they paid, what qualifies and what they can actually recover.

Filings can include corrections to unliquidated entries, formal protests for liquidated ones and, in some cases, escalation into the Court of International Trade.

This is a lengthy sequence, not a quick filing. And every step has timing requirements.

Most companies are not staffed for that. They don’t have licensed customs professionals, established legal pathways or the infrastructure to manage filings at scale.

That’s why many turn to partners who handle the process end to end – from data intake through filing, monitoring and, if required, litigation. Some Tompkins Ventures partners even cover legal costs and operate on a success-based model, so companies only pay if they recover money.

For organizations that want to recover the most money without building internal capability, this is the most direct path.

Accelerated Cash Through Refund Monetization

Other companies focus less on maximizing the claim and more on timing.

Government processing can take months. Sometimes longer. In that time, the refund sits as an expected receivable, tied up in process and exposed to delay.

Organizations who choose not to wait can quickly convert claims into cash.

The Tompkins Ventures team identifies and documents the claim so it can be underwritten as a receivable. Buyers evaluate the expected refund amount, timing and collectability before purchasing the claim or advancing against it.

From there, the IEEPA refund process moves quickly. In many cases, companies receive liquidity in two to three weeks instead of waiting on government timelines.

The tradeoff is price. Buyers discount for risk, documentation quality and timing. But for companies managing working capital, speed often outweighs the haircut.

There is also a structural advantage. Smaller claims that might otherwise be ignored can still find buyers through structured marketplaces or bundled transactions, leveling access across claim sizes.

For companies that prioritize cash flow over process, this path changes the equation.

And while many buyers offer 30 to 40 cents on the dollar, Tompkins Ventures partners can structure recoveries in the 70-90% range, depending on the claim.

White-Labeled Recovery for Brokers and Forwarders

Service providers face a different problem.

Their clients are asking about tariff recovery. And the first firm with a clear answer will likely keep the relationship.

Building that capability internally is difficult. It requires data infrastructure, filing expertise and access to legal pathways. Most brokers and forwarders are not set up to manage Post Summary Corrections (PSC filings), protests and litigation workflows across hundreds of clients.

So they partner.

In a white-labeled model, the provider keeps the client relationship while an external team handles intake, data management, filing and monitoring behind the scenes.

That includes:

• Client outreach and qualification
• Working through Customs and Border Protection systems to identify eligible entries
• Filing and ongoing case management
• Real-time visibility into claim status

Some programs also layer in funding options, allowing clients to accelerate cash while the recovery process continues.

The broker or forwarder does not build a new business line. They extend their current one.

And they participate financially. Revenue shares tie directly to recovered funds, creating a new income stream tied to an existing client base.

For service providers, this is less about operations and more about position.

The IEEPA Refund Window Will Close

While many companies may have hoped the Supreme Court would invalidate IEEPA tariffs, few planned for it.

Teams were too busy with daily operations. They didn’t forecast refunds, model their financial impacts during budgeting or pore over them during due diligence.

But recovered duties can move margins. They can free up cash that would otherwise stay tied up in process. For private equity firms, they can surface value across portfolio companies that never showed up in underwriting.

But none of that happens automatically.

Only the claims that companies identify, file and pursue turn into actual dollars. Every delay narrows the path.

Some organizations will move early, get their claims in and recover meaningful dollars. Others will wait for clarity, assume someone else owns it or decide it is not worth the effort.

By the time they revisit it, the option will be gone.

The Supreme Court ruling created the opportunity.

It did not guarantee the outcome.

Find out what IEEPA refunds your organization is due – and decide how you want to recover them before the deadlines do it for you.

Related Reading

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• Thank Tariffs for Forcing Supply Chain Excellence
• Tariff News Will Bring Partial Clarity Aug. 1