Where trade disputes are actually decided
Most international trade litigation in the United States ends up in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York, but very little of it starts there. Classification and valuation disagreements usually begin with a protest filed with U.S. Customs and Border Protection after an entry liquidates, and the window for that protest is short. Antidumping and countervailing duty matters start before the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission, and the court later reviews the record those agencies built. Appeals from the trade court go to the Federal Circuit. Tariffs imposed under emergency economic powers were held invalid by the Supreme Court in early 2026, and the refund process has been developing in stages, so importers who paid those duties should confirm where their own entries stand.
The record is built long before the courtroom
In agency-driven cases the court generally reviews the administrative record rather than hearing the story fresh. Arguments and documents that were not put in front of Commerce or CBP at the right time can be hard to raise later. Keep entry summaries, commercial invoices, broker correspondence, rulings you relied on, and product specifications together in one place. For duty-order cases, questionnaire responses and verification materials carry great weight, and missing a deadline in that process can lead the agency to rely on adverse information. Importers sometimes learn that a supplier's statements about origin or manufacturing do not hold up, and those supplier records belong in the file as well.
Choosing what to contest and where
Not every dispute is worth carrying to court, and some are better handled through a ruling request, a prior disclosure, or a negotiated approach with the agency. Our first conversation looks at which entries are still open, which deadlines are running, and whether the issue is a one-time error or a position that affects every shipment going forward. We also ask whether a customs bond, a surety, or a broker is part of the picture, because their interests do not always match yours. From there we can talk about whether a protest, an agency proceeding, or a court action fits the amounts and the business stakes involved.
