“This next week is going to be critical,” he said. “Our clients are anxious and want to get in line as quickly as possible to claim their refunds. But this is not going to be an overnight process. It’s going to take time.”

From Fresh Trade Services' perspective, the first order of business is to fully understand the process, including who can file for refund claims in what is being called the first phase by the Trump administration. He noted that it is very important to know that the only tariffs currently subject to potential refund are those that were imposed beginning in March of 2025 under IEEPA. 

Initially, the first phase will deal with tariff situations that have not yet been liquidated (finalized). Though there is also a provision that allows any IEEPA tariff that has been liquidated in the past 80 days to also be eligible for refunds.  Since the IEEPA tariffs did not go into effect until after President Trump signed the Executive Order 14195 on March 4, many of the IEEPA tariffs on fresh produce should qualify for refunds during this first phase. 

Macias explained that the general process requires the tariff to be paid, through a CBP account, eight days after entry. The rules allow for alterations to the entry document for as long as 314 days after the shipment arrives at the border. At some point each incoming shipment is finalized, which CBP calls liquidated. He said entries generally reach liquidated status around the 314-day mark, though some have liquidation accelerated, due to post summary corrections (PSCs) being filed earlier.

As of the opening of tariff refund portal, few shipments that arrived at a U.S. port of entry from mid-June 2025, would have already been classified as liquidated. In addition, most shipments that arrived between late March and early June that have been liquidated would also qualify for a tariff refund under the “last 80 day” exception.

Initially, the IEEPA tariff did impact produce shipments from Mexico and Canada that were part of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement. But within a few days those USMCA-regulated products were exempted. 

Macias expects the refund rules to be a work in progress just as all the tariffs were when first enacted. “I will not be surprised if there are some changes pretty early,” he said, noting that the Supreme Court case invalidating IEEPA tariffs and subsequent rulings by lower courts required quick action by CBP to get the refund system in place. He believes there will be tweaks to the process.

Early reports by CBP reveal that while they are currently beginning to process refund claims, the agency is estimating that refunds through direct deposit to the importer of record’s CBP account will take 60-90 days. 

Macias said his plan is to take a conservative approach as his staff is reviewing all of the shipments they shepherded through customs in the actionable time frame and determining the eligibility of each one as they help their customers determine how to file a claim. “We consider this an opportunity to offer a value-added service for our customers,” he added, saying that Fresh Trade Services is currently calculating what it will take in terms of staff hours to file these claims. “We will be making proposals to our customers as to how to cover that expense.”

The tariff refund portal limits who can file a claim to the importer of record or their customs broker.  Macias said once those refunds are paid, he is certain there will be many companies along the supply chain from growers to retailers and even consumers, who will expect a piece of that pie. 

Gary Clevenger is managing partner of Freska Produce International, Oxnard, CA, which is a major U.S. importer of mangos from many different countries, and also is a significant supplier of avocados from outside of the U.S. Freska is the importer of record on virtually all of its incoming shipments. “From an importer’s perspective, the tariff refund portal is a positive step, but we’re still working through the mechanics of how the process actually functions,” he said on April 22. “There are a lot of open questions: how claims will be validated, the timeline for approvals and ultimately when and how funds will actually be distributed. At this point, most of us are still trying to understand when checks will realistically start coming back and how predictable that process will be.”

As the importer of record, Freska will be receiving the funds directly into its CBP account and Clevenger said the company is planning on filing its own claims.  How the refunded tariff is distributed at that point is a work in progress at this early stage of the game. “That’s where it gets complicated,” he said. “There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Every transaction is different depending on how pricing was structured and who ultimately absorbed the tariff cost at the time.”

He said multiple parties may feel entitled to a portion of the refund — growers, exporters, importers and even customers. “But in reality, it comes down to who actually took the financial hit,” Clevenger said. “In many cases, importers carried that burden, especially on fixed-price or delivered programs, and those costs weren’t always passed through or recovered.”

However, he said in other instances, a tariff surcharge was included on invoices.  “There will likely be some negotiation across the supply chain, and in some cases disagreement,” he added. “Where contracts clearly defined responsibility, it should be more straightforward. Where they didn’t, it will come down to relationships and practical decision-making to keep business moving forward.” 

Clevenger revealed that making the job a bit easier for Freska is that the accounting staff kept meticulously detailed spreadsheets noting the tariff on each shipment and how it was covered. The idea was to anticipate what issues might arise as the produce with tariffs moved through the supply chain. However, he added that few contracts with the buyer community anticipated tariff refunds and spelled out how that would be handled. “From our standpoint, the priority is making sure the process is clear, efficient and transparent,” he said. “The last thing the industry needs is added friction or uncertainty tied to something that’s meant to provide relief. Stability going forward is more important than any one-time recovery.”

Founder/Managing Member Patricia Compres and Managing Member Maria Bermudez of Miami-based Advance Customs Brokers & Consulting LLC report that the tariff reform portal is not as easy to navigate as some people think. “We are in very exciting times,” Bermudez quipped, noting that this new program will keep the already-stressed customs brokerage industry very busy for months on end.

“Currently we are looking at every entry to make sure there are no mistakes. Our effort is to verify, verify, verify,” said Compres. “We don’t want any claim rejected because of an error.”

The two top executives for the firm said there are many wrinkles in the first phase of the tariff refund system that will keep the staff busy from morning to night — and even beyond. Bermudez said the CBP system will get inundated with claims and will probably get overloaded. “Some people will be coming in here at midnight to upload or check on claims throughout the process,” she said.

The two customs brokers noted that CBP has limited the first phase to the easiest entries to make sure the system works. As the process moves forward and more difficult entries become eligible, chances of an overload will increase. For example, they noted that entries requiring “reconciliation” are not eligible in the first phase. “And that describes the majority of produce,” Bermudez said.

Compres explained that because of the volatility of produce, many shipments come in under the reconciliation provision, which means the importer lists an estimated value for the shipment for tariff purposes, but reserves the right to update the value as the product is sold and market conditions change. Under CBP protocol, the importer has up to 20 months to complete the reconciliation. “These entries are not included in phase 1,” she noted.

Because of all these nuances, these two customs experts said the majority of their customers are asking Advance Customs to file the refund claims. Compres said there will be a charge associated with that service because it is very time consuming. “We are currently figuring out what that cost will be,” she said, adding it will be different for each customer because of the type and volume of shipments that are involved.

But that doesn’t mean that importers of record should turn over the task to their customs broker and forget about it. They still have an important role to play. “We are telling every one of our customers that the first thing they must do is to establish an ACE account and an ACH account,” Bermudez said. “That is the only way they are going to get paid.”

The Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) is the primary electronic system used by the trade community to report imports and exports and for the government to determine admissibility. Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) is an electronic payment option that allows participants to pay customs fees, duties, and taxes electronically, as well as receive electronic refunds of the same.  CBP has announced that all tariff refunds will only be remitted electronically.