Why are AD/CVD entries excluded from CAPE Phase 1 even when they also paid IEEPA duties?

AD/CVD entries are administered jointly by the Department of Commerce (which sets the duty rates) and CBP (which collects them). Most AD/CVD entries have suspended liquidation while DOC conducts annual administrative reviews — sometimes for years. CBP cannot unilaterally reliquidate an AD/CVD entry the way it can a normal IEEPA entry, because the final AD/CVD rate hasn't been determined yet. CAPE Phase 1's reliquidation mechanism doesn't fit that workflow. The official CBP IEEPA Duty Refunds FAQ E1 signals that AD/CVD-related entries will be addressed in a later phase.

When can AD/CVD importers expect a CAPE refund pathway?

CBP deployed a limited Phase 2 reconciliation lane on June 29, 2026, but it did not create a general pathway for AD/CVD entries. The agency's September 15 declaration plans plaintiff-specific Phase 3 deployment October 6 for finally liquidated entries covered by court-ordered reliquidation; it does not announce general AD/CVD eligibility. Importers should continue tracking Commerce liquidation instructions, filing protective protests within 180 days where available, and consulting counsel about CIT options.

Does it matter whether my AD/CVD entry has a final liquidation, suspended liquidation, or pending administrative review?

Yes — these three states have different IEEPA refund implications. Suspended liquidation under DOC review means CBP can't process any refund on the entry until the review concludes (and the entry is excluded from CAPE Phase 1). Final liquidated AD/CVD entries are past the protest window's 180-day clock; CIT may be the only path. AD/CVD entries with pending administrative reviews need careful timing — when the review concludes and liquidation occurs, a 180-day protest window opens, and that's the moment to act on the IEEPA portion.

Can I file a protest on the IEEPA portion of an AD/CVD entry before the AD/CVD review concludes?

This is a legal question with no clean answer. Protests under 19 U.S.C. § 1514 attach to a specific liquidation; if the entry hasn't liquidated, there's no liquidation to protest. Some importers and trade attorneys have filed protective protests on the underlying IEEPA Chapter 99 line citing the Supreme Court's ruling, arguing the IEEPA portion is severable from the AD/CVD portion. Others have pursued CIT actions directly. Consult trade counsel on the right strategy for your specific entries.

What about AD/CVD entries where IEEPA was a small fraction of the total duty?

The IEEPA refund target is the dollar amount paid on the IEEPA Chapter 99 line, not the total duty. For AD/CVD-heavy entries (where AD/CVD might be 100%, 200%, 300% or higher), the IEEPA layer at 20-25% can be a small percentage of total duty paid but still a meaningful absolute dollar amount. Calculate the IEEPA portion specifically before deciding whether the recovery effort is worth the legal cost.

AD/CVD Importers and IEEPA Refunds: Why Phase 1 Excludes You and What to Do Now

If your entries paid antidumping or countervailing duties, CAPE Phase 1 is not your refund path — and that’s not an oversight. It’s a structural decision. AD/CVD entries operate under a different administrative framework than ordinary IEEPA entries, and CBP can’t simply slot them into the Phase 1 reliquidation mechanism.

This article explains why AD/CVD entries are excluded, what the official Phase 2/3 roadmap signals, and what AD/CVD importers should do today to preserve their IEEPA claims.

The Core Problem: Two Agencies, One Entry

AD/CVD entries sit at the intersection of two federal agencies:

The Department of Commerce (DOC) sets the AD/CVD rates through investigations, annual administrative reviews, scope rulings, and changed-circumstances reviews. The rate that applies to a given entry isn’t necessarily the rate at the time of entry — it’s the final rate determined by DOC after review.
CBP collects the duties at entry, holds the entries in suspended liquidation while DOC reviews are pending, and then liquidates at the final rate DOC determines.

Because the final AD/CVD rate isn’t known at entry, AD/CVD entries typically sit in suspended liquidation — sometimes for years — while DOC works through annual review cycles. CBP cannot unilaterally reliquidate a suspended-liquidation entry to refund the IEEPA portion, because the entry isn’t “liquidated” yet in any final sense.

CAPE Phase 1’s mechanism is built around reliquidation — taking a recently-liquidated entry and reliquidating it the next business day at a corrected (IEEPA-zero) duty calculation. That mechanism doesn’t fit AD/CVD entries that aren’t in a liquidated state.

Why “Just Refund the IEEPA Portion” Isn’t Straightforward

It’s tempting to ask: why can’t CBP just refund the IEEPA Chapter 99 line and leave the AD/CVD calculation for DOC to finalize separately?

Several answers:

Single liquidation event. Under U.S. customs procedure, an entry liquidates as a single event with a single final duty calculation. CBP doesn’t typically split a liquidation into “the AD/CVD part” and “the everything-else part.” Splitting requires either statutory authority or a regulatory framework that doesn’t currently exist for IEEPA refunds.

Administrative coordination delay. Even if CBP were to attempt a partial reliquidation, it would require coordination with DOC’s pending review on the same entry — and DOC’s review timelines run on different calendars than CAPE’s 60–90 day refund target. By the time the agencies coordinated, the Phase 1 window would be long closed.

Risk of double-counting. AD/CVD calculations sometimes interact with stacked tariffs in non-obvious ways (importer-specific rate adjustments, all-others rate calculations, scope determinations that change which goods are covered). Refunding the IEEPA portion before DOC’s review concludes risks creating downstream calculation problems when the AD/CVD final rate is set.

Excluding AD/CVD from Phase 1 was the simpler decision. Faced with these complications, CBP’s published Phase 1 scope simply excluded AD/CVD entries — addressing them in a later phase once a workable mechanism is designed.

What CBP Has Said About Phase 2 and Beyond

The CBP IEEPA Duty Refunds FAQ lists certain AD/CVD entries as candidates for later CAPE functionality. CBP deployed a limited Phase 2 reconciliation lane on June 29, 2026, but it did not create a general AD/CVD pathway. Its September 15 declaration plans an October 6 plaintiff-specific Phase 3 deployment for court-ordered finally liquidated entries; it likewise does not announce general AD/CVD eligibility.

That means the specific AD/CVD mechanism and timing remain unconfirmed.

The Three AD/CVD Entry States and What They Mean

AD/CVD entries fall into three states, each with different IEEPA refund implications.

State 1: Suspended Liquidation Pending DOC Review

This is the most common state for AD/CVD entries. The entry is sitting at CBP, suspended, while DOC works through an annual administrative review (or first review, expedited review, etc.). Liquidation will occur after DOC finalizes the rate.

IEEPA implications:

CAPE Phase 1: not eligible (no liquidation to reliquidate)
Protest under 19 U.S.C. § 1514: not yet possible (no liquidation)
CIT: possible in some scenarios, but legally complex (typically requires standing, ripeness, and a specific cause of action that doesn’t depend on a final liquidation)

What to do: Track the DOC review timeline. When the review concludes and CBP liquidates, a 180-day protest window opens. That’s the moment to file a protest on the IEEPA portion and to evaluate whether Phase 2 is live by then.

State 2: Final Liquidation Past the 180-Day Protest Window

The entry has been finally liquidated, the AD/CVD rate is set, and the 180-day protest window has closed.

IEEPA implications:

CAPE Phase 1: not eligible
Protest: window closed
CIT: typically the only remaining path, and the IEEPA-portion-specific theory of recovery would need to be developed with trade counsel

What to do: Consult trade counsel on CIT options. The legal theory for severing the IEEPA portion of a finally-liquidated AD/CVD entry is novel; case law is still developing. Don’t assume the IEEPA portion is automatically recoverable just because IEEPA was struck down.

State 3: Pending Administrative Review or Liquidation Imminent

The DOC review is concluding, or CBP has signaled that liquidation is imminent.

IEEPA implications:

CAPE Phase 1: not yet eligible (liquidation hasn’t happened); after liquidation, still excluded due to AD/CVD status
Protest: window will open at liquidation
Phase 2: may or may not be available by then

What to do: This is the critical timing window. Set a calendar reminder for the expected liquidation date plus 180 days. The day liquidation occurs, decide whether to file a protest immediately. If Phase 2 is live by then, evaluate which path is faster and more reliable.

Practical Steps for AD/CVD Importers Today

Step 1 — Inventory your AD/CVD entries. Pull every entry between February 2025 and February 2026 that has both an AD/CVD line and an IEEPA Chapter 99 line. This is your candidate set.

Step 2 — Sort by current liquidation state. Suspended pending DOC review, finally liquidated past 180 days, pending administrative review, recently liquidated within 180 days. Each gets a different action plan.

Step 3 — Calculate the IEEPA portion per entry. The dollar amount on the IEEPA Chapter 99 line, not the total duty. For AD/CVD-heavy entries, this might be a small fraction of total duty paid but still a meaningful absolute number.

Step 4 — File protective protests on entries that liquidate within the 180-day window. Even though the AD/CVD status excludes the entry from CAPE, a timely protest preserves the IEEPA refund claim and creates a CBP record that can be referenced if a Phase 2 mechanism opens later.

Step 5 — Consult trade counsel on CIT options for finally-liquidated past-protest entries. Don’t assume CIT will automatically recover the IEEPA portion. The theory needs to be developed and may require coordinating with other AD/CVD plaintiffs in similar positions.

Step 6 — Monitor post-June 29 CAPE announcements. The confirmed June 29 Phase 2 lane is reconciliation-focused. AD/CVD importers should watch CSMS and the CBP IEEPA FAQ for a separate eligibility or filing announcement.

Where AD/CVD Importers Often Go Wrong

Mistake — Assuming AD/CVD entries are CAPE-eligible because they paid IEEPA duty. They aren’t. CSMS #68401616 (Error Dictionary) and CBP’s published Phase 1 scope make this explicit. Don’t waste filing effort on rejected declarations.

Mistake — Letting the 180-day protest window close on entries that did liquidate. AD/CVD entries can liquidate at unexpected times (after a DOC review concludes, after withdrawal of a review request). Set calendar tracking specifically for liquidation events on your AD/CVD entries.

Mistake — Treating “AD/CVD entry” as a single category for refund planning. The three states (suspended, finally liquidated, pending review) have very different action plans. Sort by state before deciding strategy.

Mistake — Treating the June 29 Phase 2 date as an AD/CVD deadline. The confirmed launch is reconciliation-focused. Protests and CIT actions still have hard deadlines, so do not trade a real preservation step for an unconfirmed AD/CVD mechanism.

Mistake — Filing CIT actions on the IEEPA portion without trade counsel. The legal theory for severing the IEEPA portion from a finally-liquidated AD/CVD entry is novel. This is not a DIY filing.

Update — September 11, 2026: Court Motion Seeks a Refund Promise for AD/CVD Entries That Paid IEEPA Duties

In Aditya Chemicals USA Inc. v. United States (Court No. 26-00134), importers Aditya Chemicals USA and Pack Perfect, represented by David Craven, moved on July 27, 2026 for an order declaring that all AD/CVD entries on which IEEPA duties were paid must ultimately be refunded — establishing entitlement now, with the payment mechanism to follow. Source: International Trade Today, “Attorney: ‘Artificially High’ Dumping Margins Caused by Deductions of IEEPA Duties From US Price,” August 31, 2026; Diaz Trade Law, “Breaking Trade News,” September 4, 2026.
The motion targets the same catch-22 described throughout this post: Commerce continues deducting IEEPA duties from the U.S. price in AD/CVD margin calculations, while the entries stay suspended and outside CAPE, so the IEEPA amounts can be lost twice — once in inflated dumping margins and once in unrefunded cash.
Similar motions were denied in six cases in March 2026. The scheduled September 15 oral argument has passed; no new ruling on this motion was verified in the public materials reviewed through September 22.
CBP’s FAQ, refreshed September 2, still lists AD/CVD entries with pending liquidation among the categories excluded from CAPE today. Nothing in the FAQ or a CSMS gives AD/CVD importers a filing lane yet.
The takeaway is unchanged: file protective protests where entries are liquidating, and use trade counsel to evaluate CIT options like this one rather than waiting for a CBP mechanism.

Update — September 22, 2026: Phase 3 Date Is Not an AD/CVD Lane

CBP’s September 15 Lord Declaration, ECF No. 50 plans a limited October 6 Phase 3 deployment for plaintiffs with court-ordered reliquidation of finally liquidated entries and valid IOR numbers supplied by July 30. It does not announce general AD/CVD entry eligibility; see the Phase 3 eligibility checklist.
The September 17 CIT order, ECF No. 52 requires a new report October 6 and sets a closed conference October 7, but does not decide the separate AD/CVD question.
Continue tracking Commerce liquidation instructions and preserve available protest rights; obtain case-specific CIT advice for material exposure.

Where This Connects

For the broader Phase 1 exclusion overview, see what to do if your entries are outside CAPE Phase 1. For the path-selection decision, see CAPE, protest, or CIT — which path fits your entries. For the duty-stack analysis (relevant for AD/CVD-heavy entries with IEEPA layered on top), see IEEPA, Section 301, and Section 232 stacking.

If you have AD/CVD-subject entries and want help mapping them to the right preservation strategy, request a free assessment.

CAPE Portal Guide is not a law firm, customs broker, or government agency. AD/CVD recovery strategy involves novel legal theories and tight statutory deadlines; consult a licensed trade attorney before relying on any of the strategies discussed.