Reference
Plain-English definitions of the customs, shipping, tariff, and trade terms that matter most for furniture and home furnishings importers. 54 terms across 5 categories.
Duty drawback
A completely separate refund program (not IEEPA) — mentioned here only to prevent confusion.
Estimated duties
The deposit you pay when your shipment clears customs — CBP may adjust the final amount months later.
Finally liquidated entry
The protest window closed — normally permanently shut, but the March 27 court order broke this rule for IEEPA duties.
Liquidated entry
CBP closed the books, but you still have 180 days to challenge the result — settled but not sealed.
Liquidation
When CBP finalizes the math on your shipment and closes the books — until then, your duties are just a deposit.
Reliquidation
Reopening a closed entry to redo the duty math — the mechanism CBP uses to process most IEEPA refunds.
Unliquidated entry
A shipment where CBP hasn't closed the books yet — the easiest category for IEEPA refunds.
Class certification
The procedural threshold a class action must clear to proceed as a class rather than as individual suits.
Court of International Trade
The federal court with exclusive nationwide jurisdiction over customs and tariff disputes.
Customs broker
A licensed professional who handles your import paperwork — your most important partner for IEEPA refunds.
Double recovery
The theory behind the consumer class-action wave — a company that collected tariff-driven price hikes AND is now getting refunds from CBP would be keeping both.
IEEPA
The International Emergency Economic Powers Act — a 1977 law giving the President emergency economic powers, used here for the first time to impose tariffs.
Importer of Record
The company name on the entry paperwork — refunds go to this entity, period, even if someone else arranged the shipment.
Preservation suit
A filing at the Court of International Trade that locks in an importer's refund right independently of CAPE — legal insurance against a narrowed appeal.
Protest
Your formal objection to what CBP says you owe — filing one is still the safest way to protect your IEEPA refund right.
Section 122
A trade law allowing temporary tariffs (max 150 days) for balance-of-payments emergencies — the 10% bridge surcharge imposed after IEEPA was struck down.
Section 232
A trade law authorizing tariffs based on national security — used for steel, aluminum, and now wood furniture (25%).
Section 301
A trade law authorizing tariffs in response to unfair foreign trade practices — the existing China tariffs (7.5–25%) that survive the IEEPA ruling.
Statutory interest
The interest rate (~6% annually) CBP must legally pay on refunded duties — the engine driving the pace of the CAPE rollout.
Unjust enrichment
The common-law doctrine underlying most of the IEEPA consumer class actions — requires showing the defendant kept a benefit it shouldn't get to keep.
Voluntary-payment doctrine
The most common defense to unjust-enrichment claims — you agreed to the price when you bought it, so you can't get it back later.
Chapter 99
Extra tariff line items the president adds on top of your normal duty rate — these are the lines being stripped for IEEPA refunds.
Entry summary
The paperwork that tells CBP exactly what you imported — your receipt number is what you need to file a refund claim.
HTS
Numerical codes that determine what duty rate you pay — like a tax bracket for your product.
MFN rate
"Most Favored Nation" — the baseline U.S. duty rate for any country with normal trade relations. For rugs and soft furnishings, typically low single digits.
Bab el-Mandeb
The narrow strait connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, near Yemen.
Blank sailing
When a shipping line cancels a scheduled departure to manage capacity and maintain higher rates.
Cape routing
Routing ships around the southern tip of Africa when the Suez Canal or Strait of Hormuz is too dangerous.
Demurrage
Fees charged when a container sits at a port terminal beyond its free time ($100–$300/day).
EBS
Emergency Bunker Surcharge — same as EFS. "Bunker" is the shipping industry's word for fuel.
ECS
Emergency Conflict Surcharge — a carrier-specific war-related fee (CMA CGM's terminology).
EFS
Emergency Fuel Surcharge — an extra fee carriers add when fuel prices spike unexpectedly.
FAK
Freight All Kinds — a flat container rate regardless of cargo type.
FBX
Freightos Baltic Index — a daily container freight rate index covering 12 global trade lanes.
FEU
Forty-foot Equivalent Unit — a standard 40-foot shipping container, the most common size for furniture and rug imports.
FMC
Federal Maritime Commission — the US government agency that regulates international ocean shipping.
GRI
General Rate Increase — a scheduled price hike announced by a shipping line, usually 30 days in advance.
IRGC
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — Iran's elite military force controlling access to the Strait of Hormuz.
MGO
Marine Gas Oil — a cleaner, more expensive ship fuel used in environmentally sensitive areas.
P&I clubs
Protection & Indemnity clubs — mutual insurance organizations covering shipowners against liability.
PSS
Peak Season Surcharge — an extra fee carriers add during busy shipping seasons (typically July–October for Asia–US trade).
Spot rate
The current market price for shipping a container right now, as opposed to a long-term contract rate.
Strait of Hormuz
A narrow waterway between Iran and Oman — the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf, carrying 20% of world oil.
String
A specific shipping service route that a carrier operates on a regular schedule.
Suez Canal
The Egyptian waterway connecting the Mediterranean to the Red Sea, avoiding the long route around Africa.
TEU
Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit — a standard 20-foot container, half the size of an FEU.
Trade lane
A shipping route between two regions, like "Asia to US West Coast" — each with its own pricing dynamics.
Transshipment
When a container is moved from one ship to another at an intermediate port instead of traveling direct.
VLSFO
Very Low Sulfur Fuel Oil — the main fuel ships burn since 2020 environmental regulations.
WCI
World Container Index — Drewry's weekly benchmark tracking container shipping costs across 8 major global routes.
WRS
War Risk Surcharge — an additional fee covering increased insurance and security costs near conflict zones.