CAPE Phase 2 Starts June 29, 2026: What Reconciliation Importers Should Do

CAPE Phase 1 launched April 20, 2026. At the June 9 Court of International Trade hearing, CBP confirmed the next operational milestone: Phase 2 reconciliation functionality is scheduled for June 29, 2026.

The initial Phase 2 scope is narrower than the full list of Phase 1 exclusions. This post explains which reconciliation entries CBP has described, what remains outside the confirmed scope, and what importers should do before June 29.

What CBP Confirmed About Phase 2

At the June 9, 2026 CIT hearing, CBP Executive Assistant Commissioner for Trade Susan Thomas said reconciliation functionality is scheduled for June 29. NCBFAA, Holland & Knight, Thompson Hine, and Husch Blackwell separately reported the same date from the hearing and related court filings.

The confirmed initial lane covers underlying Entry Types 01, 02, and 06 that:

• are flagged for reconciliation;
• do not yet have an Entry Type 09 reconciliation on file when CAPE accepts the declaration; and
• remain unliquidated or within the applicable recent-liquidation window.

CBP’s May 26 FAQ guidance remains relevant: unless the reconciliation filing deadline is less than 30 days away, CBP suggests allowing CAPE processing to occur before filing the Entry Type 09 reconciliation. If the deadline is close and reconciliation would increase IEEPA duties, CBP says to file the reconciliation without depositing the increased IEEPA amount.

The Five Most Likely Phase 2 Buckets

Looking at the Phase 1 exclusion list and the regulatory mechanics that justify each exclusion, five buckets are the strongest candidates for any Phase 2 expansion:

1. AD/CVD Entries

These are excluded because liquidation typically waits on a Department of Commerce administrative review, and the IEEPA portion cannot easily be severed from the AD/CVD calculation in a single reliquidation event. A Phase 2 mechanism would need to coordinate with DOC’s review timelines, which is non-trivial. See our AD/CVD importers IEEPA refund options post for the three liquidation states and what to do in each.

2. Reconciliation-Flagged Entries

Reconciliation (entry type 09) and any entry flagged for reconciliation are excluded because the reconciliation process itself adjusts duties post-entry, and reliquidating for IEEPA before reconciliation closes risks double-correction. A Phase 2 path here likely waits for reconciliation closure as a precondition.

3. Warehouse and Duty-Deferral Entries

Warehouse withdrawals and duty-deferral entries (types 08, 21, and related) defer the duty calculation event; they require their own withdrawal-by-withdrawal processing rather than a single entry-summary reliquidation. CBP would need to publish a different upload format and validation logic for these.

4. TIB and Drawback Entries

Temporary Importation under Bond (entry type 23) and drawback entries (type 47) are not full-duty entries to begin with — TIB defers duty pending re-export, and drawback is itself a refund mechanism. Any Phase 2 treatment likely requires linking to existing TIB closure or drawback claim records.

5. Entries with Active or Unresolved Protests

Entries that already have a protest on file at CBP are excluded from Phase 1 to avoid parallel processing on the same entry. A Phase 2 path here is the most procedurally simple — likely a withdrawal-and-refile flow once the protest is resolved or withdrawn. See how an open protest affects your CAPE refund filing for the current Phase 1 interaction.

What Is Still Not Confirmed for June 29

The June 29 deployment should not be described as a universal opening for every Phase 1 exclusion. CBP has not confirmed that the initial launch will cover:

• Entry Type 09 reconciliations already on file;
• all AD/CVD entries;
• drawback claims;
• warehouse and duty-deferral entries;
• entries with open protests; or
• finally liquidated entries.

Those categories still require category-specific monitoring and protest or CIT backup analysis.

Four Action Items for Importers With Excluded Entries

A short, dated playbook that works whether Phase 2 launches in three months or thirty:

1. Inventory excluded entries by exclusion reason — this week

Pull every IEEPA-affected entry between February 2025 and February 2026 and label each by its exclusion reason: AD/CVD, reconciliation-flagged, warehouse, drawback, TIB, open protest, or unliquidated past the 80-day window. The bucket determines the next action; mixing buckets wastes time.

2. File protective protests on every entry that liquidates — within 180 days

This is the single most important step. The 19 U.S.C. § 1514 protest window is hard-coded in statute; it does not extend because Phase 2 is delayed. A timely protective protest preserves the IEEPA refund claim and creates a CBP record that any future Phase 2 mechanism can reference. See how to file a protest for IEEPA refunds for the mechanics.

3. Evaluate CIT options for already-liquidated past-protest entries — this month

For entries that have finally liquidated and are past the 180-day protest window, CIT litigation is typically the only remaining path. The legal theory for severing the IEEPA portion from a finally-liquidated entry is novel and varies by entry type. See CAPE, protest, or CIT — which path fits your entries for the path-selection framework.

4. Subscribe to CBP CSMS alerts and our updates — today

CBP signals Phase 2 movement through CSMS messages and the IEEPA Duty Refunds FAQ updates, often with little advance notice. Subscribe at the CBP GovDelivery portal and bookmark our CSMS message index for the plain-English breakdown of each new bulletin.

Where Phase 3 and Later Functionality May Land

CBP also told the court that Phase 3 programming is targeted for late July 2026. Phase 3 is being built for finally liquidated entries, with importer-of-record identifiers used to route refunds correctly.

Technical readiness is not the same as legal availability. The government is appealing the CIT’s universal-refund order and maintains that finally liquidated refunds may require an importer-specific lawsuit. Non-litigating importers should not assume a late-July system deployment guarantees payment.

What This Means for Your Recovery Strategy

If you have excluded entries, the right posture is multi-channel preservation: file Phase 1 for everything in scope today, file protests on every excluded entry that liquidates within 180 days, evaluate CIT for finally-liquidated past-protest entries, and treat any future Phase 2 opening as a bonus channel rather than a primary plan.

The importers who recover the most from IEEPA tariffs in 2026 and 2027 will be the ones who treated Phase 1 as the start of a multi-year recovery program, not as a single-shot filing. Phase 2’s date is uncertain — the 180-day protest clock is not.

Update — May 31, 2026: CIT Show Cause Order Could Accelerate Phase 2 Scope

Judge Eaton’s May 27 orders have significantly shifted the Phase 2 outlook. Full analysis: CIT Orders CBP Commissioner to Appear →

Key developments:

• Show cause order: CBP must explain by June 4 why it should not immediately refund ALL IEEPA tariffs, including on entries liquidated more than 90 days ago — the very entries that were expected to wait for Phase 2.
• Commissioner summoned: CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott ordered to appear in person June 9 to explain compliance.
• Informal entries in focus: The judge is “particularly concerned about the millions of informal entries where liquidation was simultaneous with the time of entry, and for which the liquidation is now final” — a large category that was not even on most Phase 2 roadmaps.
• Government’s position unchanged: The government still maintains that refunds for entries beyond the 90-day reliquidation window will only happen if importers sue.

What this changes for excluded-entry strategy: The show cause order improves the odds that finally liquidated entries eventually get an administrative path — but it does not guarantee one. The June 4 response and June 9 hearing are the next catalysts. Between now and then, the guidance in the main post above still holds: file Phase 1 for everything in scope, file protests on liquidating entries within 180 days, and evaluate CIT for finally liquidated entries with material exposure. If the show cause order produces a Phase 2 expansion, you want your data clean and your legal posture clear before the announcement, not after.

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Update — June 9, 2026: Reconciliation Is Now the Clearest Phase 2 Workstream

CBP’s May 26, 2026 reconciliation FAQ update is the most concrete Phase 2 signal to date. CBP says it is working on a phased solution for CAPE declarations that include reconciliation-flagged Entry Types 01, 02, and 06 where the Entry Type 09 reconciliation has not yet been filed at CAPE acceptance. CBP also says it is working on a solution for cases where the reconciliation entry is already on file.

The current operating guidance is narrow but useful: CAPE does not block a later reconciliation filing, and CBP suggests holding the reconciliation filing unless the deadline is close to expiring, generally less than 30 days, so the CAPE declaration can be filed and processed first. If the reconciliation deadline is close and the reconciliation would increase IEEPA duties, CBP says to file the reconciliation entry and deposit duties, taxes, and fees owed without the increased IEEPA duties.

This does not create a full Phase 2 launch date, and it does not solve AD/CVD, drawback, warehouse, TIB, or finally liquidated past-protest entries. It does, however, move reconciliation from a speculative bucket to an active CBP design track. Importers with reconciliation exposure should now treat Phase 2 preparation as a live workflow: build the flagged-entry list, map each row to its Entry Type 09 status, and keep protective protest or CIT review in place wherever statutory deadlines are running.

The DOJ appeal and stay-request posture also remains relevant. Even while CAPE Phase 1 continues for clean entries, older liquidations and excluded buckets should not rely on a future administrative fix alone. Preserve rights first, then use any later CAPE expansion as an additional recovery channel.

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Update — June 18, 2026: CBP Sets June 29 for Phase 2

• June 29 deployment: CBP told the CIT that Phase 2 reconciliation functionality is scheduled for June 29, 2026. Source: June 9 CIT hearing, as reported by NCBFAA, Holland & Knight, Thompson Hine, and Husch Blackwell.
• Initial scope: The confirmed lane focuses on reconciliation-flagged underlying entries where the Entry Type 09 reconciliation has not yet been filed and the entry remains unliquidated or recently liquidated.
• Phase 3 target: CBP expects programming for finally liquidated entries to be ready in late July, but the government’s appeal leaves non-litigant eligibility disputed.
• Backup remains necessary: Continue protective protests within 180 days where available and obtain CIT advice for material finally liquidated claims.

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CAPE Portal Guide is not a law firm, customs broker, or government agency. The strategies above involve statutory deadlines and novel legal theories; consult a licensed trade attorney before relying on any single channel.