How to File a Section 122 Protest as a Non-Plaintiff Importer: 180-Day Deadline Guide (Post-CIT Ruling, May 2026)

# How to File a Section 122 Protest as a Non-Plaintiff Importer: 180-Day Deadline Guide (Post-CIT Ruling, May 2026)

On Wednesday, May 7, 2026, the U.S. Court of International Trade granted summary judgment for the importer plaintiffs in the consolidated cases *Oregon v. Trump* and *Burlap & Barrel, Inc. v. Trump*, holding that the 10% Section 122 universal tariff implemented under the February 24, 2026 proclamation is unlawful. The court issued a permanent injunction against further collection of Section 122 duties — but only as to the two named private importer plaintiffs (Burlap & Barrel and Basic Fun!) and the State of Washington. The CIT explicitly declined to enter a nationwide injunction. On Friday, May 8, the Department of Justice filed a notice of appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The administration is expected to seek a stay pending appeal.

For every other importer in the United States, the practical effect of the May 7 ruling is this: CBP continues to collect Section 122 at 10% on your entries, but the legal basis for that collection has been called into serious doubt by the trial court. If the Federal Circuit affirms in the next 6 to 12 months, the May 7 reasoning becomes the law of the land — and the only importers who will be eligible for refunds are the ones who preserved their refund rights through timely protest filings during the surcharge period.

Filing a protest is the procedural bedrock of any future Section 122 refund claim. Without a timely protest under 19 USC §1514, a denied protest is procedurally barred, which means the importer is barred from challenging the duty at the CIT later regardless of how the appellate ruling lands. This guide walks through the protest filing process for non-plaintiff importers, the deadlines that are running right now, the documentation CBP will require, and the strategic considerations for high-volume versus low-volume Section 122 exposures.

The 180-Day Protest Window: Why Every Day Counts

Under 19 USC §1514(c)(3) and 19 CFR §174.12, an importer of record has 180 days from the date of liquidation of an entry summary to file a protest contesting the duty assessment. Liquidation typically occurs 314 days after entry under the standard Customs accelerated-disposition rule, with some entries liquidated faster under Reconciliation or PSC procedures. For Section 122 entries:

- An entry filed on February 25, 2026 (the first day Section 122 was collected) would typically liquidate around January 5, 2027, with the protest filing deadline running to roughly July 4, 2027. - An entry filed on March 1, 2026 liquidates around January 10, 2027, with protest filing deadline around July 9, 2027. - An entry filed on April 15, 2026 liquidates around February 24, 2027, with protest filing deadline around August 23, 2027.

For early Section 122 entries that have already liquidated under accelerated-disposition rules (rare but possible for high-volume importers using Periodic Monthly Statement), the 180-day clock has already started running. Any entry liquidated on or before November 13, 2026 with a protest filing deadline that has not yet expired is currently inside the protest window.

The critical operational point is that the protest window runs from liquidation, not from entry. Importers should pull a liquidation status report from ACE for all entries flagged with Section 122 duty paid since February 24, 2026 and confirm which entries have liquidated, which are pending liquidation, and which are subject to Reconciliation. Protests should be calendared against liquidation date plus 180 days, not entry date.

Step 1: Pull Your Section 122 Entry Inventory From ACE

The starting point is a complete inventory of every entry summary on which your importer-of-record number paid Section 122 duty. From the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) reporting module:

1. Run an Entry Summary Report covering February 24, 2026 to the current date, filtered by your IOR number. 2. Export the results to Excel and include columns for Entry Number, Entry Date, Liquidation Date, HTS Number, Country of Origin, Customs Value, Section 122 Duty Paid, and Total Duty Paid. 3. Filter the export to rows where Section 122 Duty Paid is greater than zero. These are your protest candidates. 4. Sort by Liquidation Date ascending. Any row with a liquidation date that is within 180 days of today is inside the protest window. Any row with a liquidation date older than 180 days has lost its protest window — those entries are barred from refund.

For most importers, the inventory will contain entries that fall into three categories:

- Already liquidated, protest window open. These are the most urgent. File protests immediately to preserve refund rights. - Not yet liquidated. These do not yet have a protest deadline, but the protest window will open at liquidation. Calendar the deadline for each entry and set a reminder to file 60 days before the deadline runs. - Reconciliation entries. Entries flagged for Reconciliation have a different protest timeline tied to the Reconciliation entry rather than the original entry. Coordinate with your customs broker on the proper protest filing path for Reconciled entries.

Importers using a customs broker for entry filing should also request that the broker run a parallel report from the broker's ABI system to confirm the ACE data matches the broker's internal records. Discrepancies — typically caused by post-entry corrections, PSCs, or reliquidations — need to be reconciled before protests are filed.

Step 2: Decide on a Filing Threshold

Filing a protest costs $50 to $150 per entry through most customs brokers, plus internal review time. For high-volume importers with thousands of Section 122 entries, filing on every single entry is administratively impractical and may not be economically justified. A practical filing threshold is:

- Mandatory: Every entry where Section 122 duty paid exceeds $500. - Discretionary: Entries where Section 122 duty paid is between $200 and $500, filed in batches monthly to amortize the broker cost. - Skip: Entries where Section 122 duty paid is below $200, unless the importer has a strong policy reason to file (e.g., establishing a comprehensive litigation record).

A $200-per-entry threshold typically captures 90%-plus of the refund value in a non-plaintiff portfolio while filtering out the small-dollar entries where filing costs dominate refund value. Confirm the threshold with internal finance and trade compliance teams before launching the protest program.

A second threshold consideration is the 180-day deadline calendar. For entries within 30 days of the protest deadline, the threshold should be lowered to capture all but trivially-small entries. Once the deadline runs, refund rights are permanently barred — there is no extension mechanism for an un-filed protest.

Step 3: Prepare the Protest Documentation

A protest filing must include the following elements per 19 CFR §174.13:

Protestor identification. Importer of Record name, IOR number, EIN, address, and authorized representative contact information.

Entry identification. The specific entry summary number(s) being protested. A single protest may cover multiple entries if they share the same legal basis, but each entry's facts and duty calculation must be set out separately.

Statement of objection. The legal basis for the protest. For Section 122 protests, the standard form is: *"The protestor objects to the assessment of Section 122 duty on the above-referenced entry summary on the grounds that, as held by the U.S. Court of International Trade in Burlap & Barrel, Inc. v. Trump (May 7, 2026), the February 24, 2026 Proclamation 11012 implementing Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 exceeded the President's statutory authority and is therefore unlawful. The protestor preserves all refund rights pending final resolution of the appeal currently before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit."*

Calculation of duty in dispute. The dollar amount of Section 122 duty paid on the entry, which is the amount of refund being claimed. CBP will not refund without a clear calculation tying entry value, duty rate, and duty paid.

Supporting documentation. The entry summary (CBP Form 7501) and proof of duty payment. For consolidated protests covering multiple entries, a summary table mapping entry numbers to duty amounts is required.

Power of attorney. If filed by a customs broker on behalf of the importer, a valid Power of Attorney must be on file with CBP.

The protest is filed electronically through ACE Protest in most cases. Paper filing is available but slower and discouraged by CBP.

Step 4: File the Protest and Calendar the Response

CBP has up to two years under 19 USC §1515 to render a decision on a filed protest. Most Section 122 protests are expected to be denied during this period — CBP's institutional position is that the May 7 CIT ruling is not yet final (because of the pending appeal), and the agency will continue applying Section 122 as the lawful rate until the Federal Circuit either affirms or reverses.

A denial on a Section 122 protest is not the end of the road. Under 19 USC §1514(c)(2) and §1581(a), an importer has 180 days from the date of denial to file a civil action at the U.S. Court of International Trade challenging the denial. Filing the CIT action preserves the refund claim through the appellate process. If the Federal Circuit affirms the May 7 ruling, the importer's CIT action is well-positioned for summary judgment in their favor and the refund is paid.

The practical workflow is:

1. File the protest within 180 days of liquidation. 2. CBP denies (expected outcome during the appeal period). 3. File a CIT action within 180 days of the denial to preserve the claim. 4. Wait for the Federal Circuit appellate decision. 5. If the appellate court affirms, move for summary judgment at CIT and collect the refund.

If the Federal Circuit reverses the May 7 ruling and upholds Section 122, the protest is denied on the merits and the CIT action is dismissed. The importer's loss is the protest filing cost plus CIT filing fees. The upside if the ruling is affirmed is full refund of the 10% Section 122 line on every protected entry plus statutory interest.

Step 5: Consider Whether to Join an Existing CIT Action

A faster procedural path than filing a standalone CIT action is to join an existing case as a party plaintiff. Several class-action and consolidated-plaintiff suits have been filed at the CIT challenging Section 122 since February 24, 2026, and many of these cases remain open to additional plaintiffs through May and June 2026.

Joining an existing case has three advantages over filing standalone:

- Lower filing cost. Plaintiff additions to existing cases typically cost less than initiating a new case. Filing fees are pooled across the consolidated docket. - Procedural certainty. The existing case is already on a known calendar with assigned counsel. The May 7 ruling specifically named two plaintiffs — additional plaintiffs in similar suits have a strong argument for similar injunctive relief if the May 7 reasoning is affirmed. - Possible expanded injunction. If a consolidated case has dozens or hundreds of plaintiffs, the CIT may be more inclined to expand the scope of any future injunction to cover all plaintiffs in the docket, even if it stops short of a nationwide injunction.

Customs counsel — particularly the firms representing the May 7 plaintiffs (Akin Gump, Cassidy Levy Kent, Sidley Austin, Liang + Mooney) — can confirm which cases are accepting additional plaintiffs and the procedural requirements for joining. Importers with Section 122 exposure of $500,000 or more should evaluate joining as the primary refund-preservation path rather than relying solely on protests.

Worked Example: Mid-Size Importer With $4M of Q1 Exposure

Consider a mid-size importer that paid $4 million in Section 122 duty between February 24, 2026 and April 30, 2026 across 1,200 entries. The average duty per entry is $3,333. Under a $200 threshold, 95% of entries (approximately 1,140) qualify for protest. At an average broker filing cost of $90 per protest, the total protest filing cost is approximately $103,000.

The expected-value calculation:

| Outcome | Probability | Refund | Filing cost | Net | |---------|------------|--------|-------------|-----| | Federal Circuit affirms, refund granted | 50% | $3.8M (95% capture) | -$103K | +$3.7M | | Federal Circuit reverses, no refund | 50% | $0 | -$103K | -$103K | | Probability-weighted expected value | | | | +$1.8M |

The expected-value math is overwhelming even at conservative probability estimates. A $103,000 deployment of broker fees has an expected return of $1.8 million on an investment that is fully recoverable if the appellate court reverses. For importers with even larger Q1-Q2 2026 Section 122 exposure, the math becomes even more favorable.

A separate calculation should be run for joining an existing CIT action versus filing standalone protests. For most non-plaintiff importers, the answer will be "do both" — file protests on every entry above the threshold to preserve refund rights, and join an existing CIT consolidated case for procedural certainty on the major exposure.

What If My Entries Are Subject to Reconciliation?

Entries flagged for Reconciliation under 19 USC §1484(b) have a different protest timeline tied to the date the Reconciliation entry is liquidated rather than the underlying transactional entry. For Section 122 protests on Reconciliation entries:

- The protest must be filed within 180 days of the Reconciliation entry liquidation, not the transactional entry liquidation. - The protest should reference the Reconciliation entry number as the primary entry being challenged, with the underlying transactional entries listed as related entries. - Coordinate with your customs broker on the proper protest filing path. Some brokers prefer to file protests on the Reconciliation entry; others prefer protests on the underlying transactional entries with the Reconciliation entry referenced.

Importers using Reconciliation should expect Reconciliation entries from Q1 2026 to liquidate beginning in early 2027, with the protest filing window running through mid-2027. This timing aligns well with the expected Federal Circuit appellate calendar.

What About Already-Paid Section 122 Duty Without a Liquidated Entry?

For entries that paid Section 122 duty at entry time but have not yet been liquidated (the typical state of Q1 and Q2 2026 entries), the protest window has not yet opened — protests must be filed after liquidation, not before. The right action for unliquidated entries is to:

1. Confirm the entry summary correctly reflects the Section 122 duty paid line item. 2. Calendar the expected liquidation date (entry date plus approximately 314 days under standard accelerated-disposition rules). 3. Calendar the protest filing deadline at liquidation date plus 180 days. 4. Set a reminder 60 days before the protest deadline to assemble documentation and file. 5. Consider a Post-Summary Correction (PSC) if any documentation errors are identified in the entry summary that would weaken the protest filing.

A PSC under 19 CFR §141.0 can be filed within 300 days of entry to correct documentation errors. For Section 122 entries, PSCs are typically used to confirm the correct HTS classification and country of origin documentation, which strengthens any future protest filing. PSCs do not contest the duty assessment — protests do.

What About Section 232 and Section 301 Duties?

The May 7 CIT ruling is limited to Section 122. It does not affect Section 232 (50% steel, aluminum, copper) or Section 301 (25% on China List 1–3, 7.5% on List 4A). Protests on Section 232 or Section 301 duty assessments must be filed on different legal grounds and have lower expected refund rates given the long-standing judicial deference to those statutes.

For multi-layered entries — for example, Chinese-origin steel paying Section 122 + Section 232 + Section 301 — the protest should be filed challenging only the Section 122 line item, with the dollar calculation tied to the Section 122 duty amount specifically. Including challenges to Section 232 or Section 301 in the same protest weakens the legal basis and may result in the entire protest being denied without substantive review of the Section 122 claim.

The FreightFigures Tariff Stacking Calculator helps decompose multi-layer duty assessments into their constituent Section 122, Section 232, Section 301, and base MFN components — useful for preparing the duty calculation section of the protest.

A Reasonable Filing Calendar for May to October 2026

The next six months are the most concentrated protest filing window for Q1 2026 Section 122 entries. A reasonable monthly cadence:

- May 2026: Run the ACE inventory. Calendar protest deadlines for entries that have already liquidated. Engage customs counsel on joining an existing CIT consolidated case. File protests on the first batch of already-liquidated entries above the $500 threshold. - June 2026: Continue protest filings on rolling-liquidation entries. Monitor Federal Circuit calendar for stay motions and oral argument scheduling. Confirm CIT case participation paperwork is finalized. - July 2026: Section 122 statutory cap expires on or about July 24, 2026 (150 days from February 24 proclamation). New Section 122 entries cease. Continue protest filings on Q2 2026 entries as they liquidate. - August 2026: Peak protest filing month. Most Q1 2026 entries have liquidated and need protests filed. Engage customs broker on bulk protest preparation if the entry volume justifies. - September–October 2026: Continue rolling protest filings on Q2 entries. Monitor Federal Circuit oral argument and decision timing. Prepare CIT pleadings on denied protests within 180 days of denial.

The team at Cate Freight can help importers think through their Section 122 protest filing strategy, work with customs counsel on joining CIT consolidated cases, and integrate the protest filing program with broader trade-compliance and landed-cost workflows. If you want a working session to walk through your Section 122 exposure and stress-test the protest filing economics, the door is open.

The Bottom Line

The May 7 CIT ruling is the most importer-favorable trade decision in years — but the benefit runs only to importers who preserve their refund rights through timely protest filings. CBP will continue to collect Section 122 at 10% pending the Federal Circuit appeal. Every Section 122 entry has a 180-day-from-liquidation protest window that, if missed, permanently bars the importer from refund. The economics of protest filing at the $200-per-entry threshold are overwhelmingly favorable even at conservative appellate-success probability estimates. The right action right now is to run the ACE inventory, calendar the deadlines, and start filing protests on already-liquidated entries this month.

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