Potential Small Importer Class Action Lawsuit

Businesses that paid under $1 million in IEEPA tariffs could be covered by a proposed class action lawsuit in Freestyle World v. CBP, which was argued yesterday at the Court of International Trade. Judge Richard Eaton has not indicated whether a class would be certified but conceded that the electronic CAPE tool may not be sufficient in returning all of the unlawfully collected duties.

The plaintiffs claimed that the system presents “formidable barriers” and “long wait-times for support.” These grievances are consistent with responses to our small business survey:

"My biggest imports during the IEEPA period were shipments that should have been tariff-free. They've been in dispute for over a year." – The Dropped Stitch, 6 employees, Chicago, Illinois

“We are still in the dark about our [refund] application, as we cannot see it in our ACE portal." – Self-employed small business owner in Delaware

Capturing tariff refunds are essential to small businesses:

·      53% of survey respondents say refunds would help pay down debt

·      40% would rebuild inventory

·      27% would avoid closure

The typical respondent paid approximately $148,000 in tariffs, over 80% paid under $1 million. Read the full survey report here: https://www.wepaythetariffs.com/small-business-report