Key Takeaways
- Eligibility follows the statute behind the tariff. Ordinary customs duties, Section 301 tariffs, and Section 201 safeguard duties are drawback eligible, and the temporary Section 122 tariffs in effect through July 24, 2026 generally are as well.
- The main exclusions are Section 232 and AD/CVD. Most Section 232 duties are not drawback eligible, aside from limited exceptions added in 2025, and antidumping and countervailing duties never are.
- The 2025 IEEPA tariffs are now mostly a refund question. The Supreme Court struck them down in February 2026, and CBP is refunding them through its CAPE process. Duties paid on the reciprocal tariff can also be recovered through drawback on exported goods, but the same duty can’t be recovered twice.
- New Section 301 tariffs are drawback eligible. The forced-labor duties of 10% or 12.5% on about 60 economies took effect July 24, 2026, and CBP confirmed in CSMS #69567203 that they qualify.
- Sorting the layers is the first step. A single entry can carry several duty layers at once, and separating the eligible layers from the ineligible ones is how a drawback program gets valued.
<p>Tariffs have changed repeatedly since early 2025, and the rules on which ones can be recovered through duty drawback have changed with them. This page lays out where each major tariff program stands for drawback as of October 2026.</p><p>Duty drawback is a refund of import duties, taxes, and fees paid on imported goods that are later exported or destroyed. Eligibility follows the law behind each tariff, so a single entry can carry some duties that qualify and some that don’t.</p>
Drawback-Eligible Tariffs
- Ordinary customs duties: the regular duty rates in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule.
- Section 301 tariffs: the China tariffs in place since 2018, plus the newer Brazil duties and the forced-labor duties of 10% or 12.5% on goods from about 60 economies that took effect July 24, 2026. CBP confirmed in CSMS #69567203 that both newer actions are drawback eligible.
- Section 122 surcharge: the temporary 10% duty on imports from February 24 to July 24, 2026. It has expired, but duties already paid on it can still be claimed within the five-year window.
- Section 201 safeguard duties: generally eligible.
- Merchandise processing fees and harbor maintenance fees: recoverable on every claim type under 19 CFR 190.3.
Tariffs With No Drawback, or Only Narrow Drawback
- Most Section 232 duties: each Section 232 action sets its own drawback rule, and most bar it. A few allow drawback in narrow cases, including an April 2026 change for certain steel, aluminum, and copper products, so check each line against the proclamation behind it.
- Antidumping and countervailing duties: never eligible under 19 CFR 190.3.
- IEEPA fentanyl tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico: the executive orders barred drawback on these. They are being refunded through CBP’s CAPE process instead.
What About the IEEPA Reciprocal Tariffs?
The Supreme Court struck down the IEEPA tariffs on February 20, 2026, and CBP is refunding them through CAPE, a process inside ACE. Duties paid on the reciprocal tariff from April 2025 until the ruling were also drawback eligible, but the same dollar can’t come back twice, so an entry that’s part of a pending drawback claim is kept out of CAPE. Our breakdown of IEEPA refunds vs. duty drawback covers how to sequence the two, including the class action certified in October 2026.
Note on Low-Value Imports
Duty-free de minimis treatment for shipments valued at $800 or less has been suspended for all countries since August 29, 2025, and a February 2026 executive order kept the suspension in place. Those low-value imports now pay applicable duties, so they belong in a drawback review when the goods are later exported or destroyed.
Ready to discover your tariff drawback potential? Let’s have a conversation about your specific situation. Set up a discovery call today.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Drawback is calculated layer by layer, so eligible duties on an entry line, such as ordinary duties and Section 301, can still be claimed when an ineligible layer like Section 232 sits on the same product. The ineligible portion is simply excluded from the calculation rather than disqualifying the entry.
Check the entry summaries. Special tariff programs appear as additional Chapter 99 line items on CBP Form 7501 alongside the product’s regular HTS classification, so every duty layer is visible entry by entry. Mapping those layers against the lists above is how drawback potential gets quantified.
Fees count too. Drawback covers duties, taxes, and fees, which includes the merchandise processing fee and, under the modernized rules, the harbor maintenance fee tied to the claimed imports. On high-volume entries those fees add up, so they belong in any recovery estimate.
The claim is adjusted rather than lost. When duties come back through another mechanism, such as a retroactive exclusion or the court-ordered IEEPA refund process, that portion must be removed from the drawback claim to prevent double recovery. An experienced broker reconciles affected claims proactively.
