CAPE Phase 2 Hasn't Launched Yet. Here's What You Can Do With Stuck Entries Right Now.

What Phase 1 Left Behind

On April 20, 2026, CBP launched the first phase of CAPE. By May 11, 126,237 declarations had been submitted. By May 22, more than 8.3 million entries had been liquidated without IEEPA duties — real refunds, real bank accounts.

But Phase 1 explicitly excludes about 18% of all IEEPA entries. If your entries fall into any of these categories, you're still waiting on Phase 2 — and CBP hasn't told you when it's coming.

The importers stuck behind that 18% aren't random. They're disproportionately the largest, most complex importers in the country — reconciliation filers, manufacturers running drawback programs, steel and aluminum importers under AD/CVD overlays, and companies with substantial 2025 entries that already liquidated outside the 80-day Phase 1 window.

In dollar terms, Phase 2 refunds are typically $500K to $5M+ per importer. The Phase 2 pool is a smaller number of entries but a much larger average refund.

Entry Types Excluded From Phase 1

Phase 1 is narrow by design. CBP built it to process the cleanest, most automatable subset of IEEPA entries first. Everything below was deliberately deferred to Phase 2 or to manual handling:

1. Reconciliation entries (Entry Type 09). Used by importers who file reconciliation summaries to true-up duties after entry. Heavily used by larger importers with complex sourcing. Currently held in queue indefinitely until Phase 2.

2. Drawback claims. Entries where importers claimed drawback — refund of duties on re-exported goods — under 19 U.S.C. § 1313. Common in manufacturing and re-export scenarios. Phase 1 cannot process these; Phase 2 is required.

3. Antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) entries. Entries subject to AD/CVD investigations — most steel, aluminum, solar, and certain agricultural imports from specific countries. Excluded under the liquidation suspension provisions of 19 U.S.C. § 1504(d). Will be processed only after the AD/CVD liquidation is finalized.

4. Older liquidated entries (beyond the 80-day window). Entries liquidated more than 80 days before CAPE submission. Must be addressed through formal protests under 19 U.S.C. § 1514 (180-day protest window). May or may not be covered by Phase 2 — likely requires individual action.

5. Entries with surety-paid duties. Entries where the surety, not the importer, paid the IEEPA duties. Refund rights transfer to the surety, not the original Importer of Record. Excluded from Phase 1.

6. Temporary Importation Under Bond (TIB) entries. Goods imported for temporary use without duty. Excluded from Phase 1.

7. Warehouse withdrawal entries. Goods withdrawn from bonded warehouses. Mixed status — some covered, some not, depending on how IEEPA duties were assessed at withdrawal.

Who's Waiting on Phase 2 (And Why They're Usually Whales)

Importers stuck in Phase 2 territory tend to be the largest, most complex importers in the US. Here's why:

Reconciliation entries = large importers. Companies that file Entry Type 09 reconciliations move significant volume. The administrative overhead of reconciliation only makes sense for importers with substantial trade activity.

Drawback claims = manufacturers and re-exporters. These tend to be mid-to-large companies that import components, manufacture in the US, and re-export. The refund opportunity is often 6-7 figures.

AD/CVD entries = specific high-volume industries. Steel, aluminum, solar, certain chemicals — these tend to be high-volume, high-dollar imports where the IEEPA refund alone easily reaches $500K to $5M+.

Older liquidated entries = companies importing across all of 2025. If your entries from April-September 2025 are already liquidated, you've likely been importing consistently — which means your total IEEPA refund exposure is significantly higher than median.

Translation: Phase 2 importers are disproportionately the highest-value refund opportunities in the entire $166B pool. The smaller importers got paid first because their entries fit the Phase 1 mold. The whales are still in queue.

When Will Phase 2 Actually Launch?

CBP hasn't published a Phase 2 launch date. What's publicly known:

• Status of the CAPE platform build: Per court filings, the system is 73% complete on claims, 45% on mass processing, 63% on refunds, and 80% on review/liquidation as of April.
• Court oversight: Judge Eaton at the Court of International Trade requires CBP to file regular progress reports.
• Industry expectation: Late summer to early fall 2026 is the most commonly cited launch window.
• Risk factor: The government's IEEPA appeal — deadline around June 7 — could delay implementation if the Federal Circuit issues new orders.

For importers with Phase 2 exposure, the message from CBP is clear: the system isn't built yet for you, but your right to a refund exists.

That means preservation matters more than urgency. Filing a CAPE Declaration today for Phase 2-eligible entries won't help — Phase 1 will reject the entries. But failing to preserve rights through other channels (protests, attorney engagement, documentation) could cost you when Phase 2 finally opens.

What to Do Right Now If You're Waiting on Phase 2

There are six concrete actions Phase 2 importers should be taking this week:

1. Document every excluded entry. Pull ACE Report ES-003 (Importer Activity Report). Identify every entry with IEEPA Chapter 99 codes that falls into a Phase 2 category. Save the data — entry number, liquidation date, dollar amount, and exclusion reason — in a single working file.

2. File protests within 180 days for liquidated entries. For entries already liquidated, the 180-day protest window under 19 U.S.C. § 1514 may be your preservation mechanism. Missing this window can extinguish refund rights even after Phase 2 opens.

3. Coordinate with AD/CVD case status. For AD/CVD-suspended entries, monitor the case status. When AD/CVD liquidation finalizes, the IEEPA refund pathway opens. Calendar specific dates by case.

4. Establish surety communication. For entries where a surety paid IEEPA duties, the refund flows to the surety. Reach out to your surety provider and confirm their CAPE strategy. Your contract may govern how you share in the refund.

5. Consider CIT litigation for large cases. For Phase 2 exposure over $500K, individual litigation in the Court of International Trade may be faster and more certain than waiting for Phase 2. The plaintiffs who won in *V.O.S. Selections* got priority refund treatment.

6. Prepare your CAPE Phase 2 submission package now. Have the data ready. Have ACE access configured. Have ACH banking enrolled. When Phase 2 opens, the importers who submit clean files in the first week will be in the first refund batch.

The Phase 2 Timeline Nobody Is Talking About

The IEEPA refund order was issued in August 2025. CAPE Phase 1 launched April 20, 2026. First refunds paid May 12, 2026. That's roughly 9 months from court order to bank account.

If Phase 2 development began alongside Phase 1, and follows the same CBP rollout timeline, importers with Phase 2-eligible entries could be waiting until late 2026 for the system to open — and another 60-90 days after submission for refunds to arrive.

For an importer with $2M in Phase 2-eligible refund exposure, the cost of waiting (vs. acting now to preserve rights and prepare submissions) is measured in months of float, not weeks.

Phase 1 took 8 months from court order to first payment. If Phase 2 follows the same timeline, refunds for excluded entries may not arrive until late 2026 or early 2027 — unless you preserve rights aggressively in the meantime.

Phase 1 vs Phase 2: Side-by-Side

The differences between Phase 1 and Phase 2 aren't just about which entries qualify. They reflect two different operational tracks inside CBP, with different timelines, different submission paths, and different risk profiles. The table below captures the working state as of late May 2026 — Phase 2 details remain subject to CBP confirmation.

How to Prepare Your Phase 2 Filing Package Now

The importers who file in the first week of Phase 2 will be in the first refund batch — same pattern Phase 1 followed. Phase 2 readiness comes down to five workstreams:

1. ACE access for the right roles. Confirm your Importer sub-account has CAPE permissions assigned to at least two people. Phase 1 importers learned the hard way that single-user access bottlenecks submissions.

2. ACH banking enrolled and verified. The single largest Phase 1 rejection cause was ACH enrollment errors. Enroll the bank account now, run a test transaction if CBP supports it, and confirm routing details against your bank's records.

3. Entry-level data reconciliation. Pull your entry summaries (CBP Form 7501) for every Phase 2-eligible entry. Reconcile HTS codes, declared values, and country of origin against your internal records *now*, before the submission window opens. Resubmissions after rejection add 30-60 days.

4. Surety and broker coordination. If a surety paid IEEPA duties on any entries, confirm in writing how refunds will be allocated. If a customs broker filed the entries, request the original entry records and signed power of attorney documentation.

5. Legal preservation log. Maintain a dated log of every protest filed, every AD/CVD case being monitored, every CIT engagement, and every Phase 2 readiness step taken. If the appeal track shifts or the refund landscape changes mid-2026, this log is what protects your position.