WASHINGTON | Nov. 2, 2026 — The Liberty Justice Center (LJC) announced its new initiative, Operation Refund Rescue, following its landmark Supreme Court victory earlier this year striking down tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) as unlawful. Part of LJC’s Project TERRA (Tariff Equity and Refund Resource for America), the program helps qualifying small businesses obtain court relief needed to recover unlawful tariff payments on entries that have reached final liquidation.
Although the Supreme Court declared the tariffs unlawful and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has begun distributing billions of dollars through its CAPE refund system, many small businesses are still being left behind. Importers with certain finally liquidated entries remain unable to access refunds through CAPE without obtaining an individual court order.
The result is a two-tiered refund system. Businesses with the resources to hire attorneys and obtain individual court orders can move forward with recovering their money. Others must wait while the government continues to challenge broader refund relief.
For small importers, the cost of filing a federal lawsuit can consume a substantial portion of the refund they are seeking.
“We went all the way to the Supreme Court to prove these tariffs were unlawful. Yet eight months later, American businesses are still being forced to hire lawyers and file federal lawsuits just to recover their own money,” said Sara Albrecht, Chairman and CEO of the Liberty Justice Center. “The government lost this case. It should be returning the money it unlawfully collected, not continuing to fight relief that would make refunds available to everyone. Justice should not depend on whether you can afford another lawsuit.”
Through Operation Refund Rescue, LJC will cover the costs of narrowly targeted federal litigation for qualifying small businesses. For accepted clients, LJC will:
- File an individual action in the U.S. Court of International Trade seeking the necessary relief for qualifying IEEPA entries that have reached final liquidation.
- Pursue an appropriate court order allowing those entries to be considered for reliquidation and refunds.
- Provide guidance on the subsequent administrative refund process.
LJC will cover all associated court filing fees and litigation expenses. The program does not provide general customs counseling, ongoing administrative refund management, or representation in unrelated trade matters.
LJC is also calling on the private trade bar to step forward. While law firms have been engaged by large corporate clients pursuing substantial tariff refunds, smaller importers often cannot afford comparable legal assistance.
“The trade bar has benefited from substantial litigation generated by these unlawful tariffs, yet our requests for pro bono assistance for smaller businesses have largely gone unanswered,” Albrecht said. “We welcome attorneys and firms willing to dedicate some of these resources to helping small importers recover their money.”
Operation Refund Rescue is open to small businesses that:
- Are U.S. businesses that directly paid tariffs imposed under IEEPA.
- Have one or more entries that reached final liquidation, creating an obstacle to recovering those payments through CAPE.
- Have not already filed an individual lawsuit in the U.S. Court of International Trade seeking recovery of those same tariff payments.
- Were the importer of record for the affected entries and can provide supporting documentation identifying them and estimated refund amounts.
Eligible businesses are encouraged to review program details on the TERRA website and complete the client intake questionnaire. LJC has capacity to process an initial 100 filings.
Operation Refund Rescue operates alongside LJC’s broader legal campaign to secure refunds for every affected business. LJC continues to pursue nationwide refund relief that would eliminate the need for these individual lawsuits.
“Operation Refund Rescue should not have to exist,” Albrecht added. “The government should be returning this money to every affected American importer. Until that happens, we will keep fighting to make sure small businesses are not left behind.”
*Representation is limited to the specific court proceedings described above and is subject to acceptance and the terms of an individual engagement agreement.