Duty drawback: how to get 99% of your import duties back

What drawback is

Drawback is a refund of duties, internal revenue taxes and certain fees paid on imports, granted when the goods are exported or destroyed. The current rules comes from the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (TFTEA) and CBP's modernized drawback rule of August 2, 2018.

Three numbers matter most:

• 99%. You generally get back 99% of the duties, taxes and fees paid. Substitution claims use a "lesser of" calculation, so they can pay less.
• 5 years. The claim must be filed within five years of the import date of the goods you claim on.
• ACE only. CBP has not accepted paper claims since February 22, 2019 (CBP drawback overview).

The merchandise processing fee (MPF) and harbor maintenance fee (HMF) are recoverable along with duties. Antidumping and countervailing duties never are (19 CFR 190.3, per Citta Brokerage).

The types of drawback

Most claims fall into one of five types. The type decides what you have to prove and which records you need.

There are also petroleum drawback under 1313(p), destruction claims, and a tax-only refund for distilled spirits, wine and beer. Exports to Canada and Mexico follow separate USMCA drawback rules, so check those before you count on a refund for them (CBP).

Which 2026 tariffs are eligible

This is where most of the questions are right now. Eligibility depends on the legal authority behind each duty, and it has changed several times this year.

The Section 301 forced labor action took effect July 24, 2026, with additional duties of 10% or 12.5% on goods from 60 economies (Livingston). Because it reaches so much of what the US imports, it is the duty most exporters should look at first.

On the Section 122 surcharge, which ran from February 24 to July 24, 2026: Alliance CHB reports that CBP's implementing message, CSMS #67844987, allows drawback on it. We have not been able to read that CSMS ourselves, so confirm it with your filer before you count on it.

We left out categories where the sources disagree or CBP hasn't spoken, including Section 232 auto parts, lumber and pharmaceuticals, and the Section 338 duties on Canadian goods. Ask your drawback filer for the current CBP position on those before you claim.

IEEPA duties: use CAPE first

After the Supreme Court struck down the IEEPA tariffs on February 20, 2026, CBP built a refund system called CAPE inside the ACE Portal. CAPE refunds the IEEPA duty itself, with interest. Drawback pays 99% and only on goods you exported or destroyed.

The two systems block each other. Entries already on a drawback claim are excluded from CAPE. CBP's instruction is to put the entry on a CAPE declaration first, and the entry must be liquidated or reliquidated before it goes on a drawback claim (CBP IEEPA refunds page, updated November 2, 2026). If you have an open drawback claim with IEEPA entries on it, talk to your filer before doing anything else.

How a claim is filed

Every claim goes through ACE. If you don't file electronically yourself, you have three options: a licensed customs broker, a service bureau, or your own ABI connection to CBP, which CBP says can take three to six months to set up (CBP).

1. Match imports to exports. Pull the import entries, with HTS numbers, quantities and values, and match them to export or destruction records. For substitution claims, the matching follows the substitution rules instead of the exact units.
2. File the notice of intent if needed. Unused, substitution and rejected merchandise claims need a CBP Form 7553 at least 5 working days before export or 7 working days before destruction, unless you hold a waiver. Manufacturing claims need it 7 working days before destruction.
3. Transmit the claim in ACE. For Section 301 duties, the claim must report both the Chapter 99 number and the regular HTS number, with quantity and value, in the same order as on the import entry.
4. Upload support. Form 7553 and proof of export or destruction are uploaded with the claim to CBP's Document Image System (DIS).
5. Wait for payment or liquidation. With Accelerated Payment you are paid an estimate first. Otherwise CBP pays when the claim liquidates.

Privileges worth applying for

Regular claimants apply for these on one form, CBP's combined privilege application.

• Accelerated Payment (19 CFR 190.92). CBP pays estimated drawback before the claim liquidates. It requires a bond.
• Waiver of Prior Notice (19 CFR 190.91). You can export or destroy without filing Form 7553 first. For anyone who exports often, this is the privilege that makes drawback workable.
• One-time waiver (19 CFR 190.36). A one-time waiver of the prior notice requirement.
• Drawback compliance program. Listed on the same application.

Policy questions go to OTDrawback@cbp.dhs.gov and ruling requests to hqdrawback@cbp.dhs.gov (CBP).

Records you need

Drawback is a paperwork claim. If the records can't tie an export back to an import, the claim fails. Keep:

• The import entry summaries (CBP Form 7501) for every entry you claim on, with the Chapter 99 lines.
• Proof of export or destruction for every unit you claim.
• Form 7553 notices, or proof that you hold a waiver.
• For manufacturing claims, the production and inventory records that show the imported or substitute input went into the exported article.

Records that pertain to a drawback claim must be kept for 3 years after the claim liquidates (19 CFR 190.15). Other laws can require longer.

What drawback specialists charge

Most drawback specialists work on contingency. They take a percentage of what CBP refunds and charge nothing if the claim pays nothing. One provider's guide, updated October 12, 2026, puts the market at 15% to 30% of recovered duties, with lower rates on large recoveries (GingerControl). We have not found a neutral survey of drawback fees, so treat any range as a starting point for negotiation.

Ask for every fee in writing. Some providers add setup, data processing or audit-support charges on top of the percentage, which can double the effective rate. Also ask who pays for the Accelerated Payment bond and whether the fee applies to MPF and HMF recovered, not only duties.

A worked example

This is an illustration with simple numbers, not a quote or a real claim.

A company imports 2,000 units of a Chinese product by ocean. The entered value is $100,000. The product carries a 25% Section 301 duty and no IEEPA duty. On that entry it pays:

• Section 301 duty: $25,000
• MPF at 0.3464% (FY2027 rate): $346.40
• HMF at 0.125%: $125.00
• Total: $25,471.40

Within three years it exports 800 of those units, unused, to a customer in the United Kingdom. That is 40% of the entry, so the claim is an unused merchandise, direct identification claim under 1313(j)(1).

• Duties and fees on the exported units: 40% of $25,471.40 = $10,188.56
• Drawback at 99%: $10,086.67
• Provider fee at an assumed 20% contingency: $2,017.33
• Net to the company: $8,069.34

The same math works for a manufacturing claim. The difference is in the records: you have to show the imported input went into the exported article.

Who should look at drawback

• Exporters of imported goods. Distributors that import into the US and resell some of the stock abroad. Unused merchandise drawback was built for this.
• Manufacturers using imported inputs. Anyone paying Section 301 duties on components, or Section 232 duties on steel, aluminum or copper that end up in exported products. Since April 2026, manufacturing drawback is the only route for those metal duties.
• Companies that destroy imported goods. Expired, damaged or obsolete stock destroyed after notice to CBP can qualify.
• Importers of rejected goods. Shipments that didn't match the order and go back to the supplier.

Volume matters. A claim needs import data, export data and a filer. If you export a few hundred dollars of duty-paid goods a year, the setup may cost more than you recover. Once the duty on exported goods reaches the tens of thousands, it is worth a call to a specialist. Remember the five-year window: duties paid in 2022 start dropping out of reach in 2027.

Drawback specialists and brokers

These providers file drawback claims in ACE for US importers and exporters; check each one's fee basis and privilege experience before you sign.