$20.6 billion in refunds has already been paid out. The rest is going to importers who file clean, entry-level claims — and to no one else. Katz prepares, files, and shepherds your refund for a percentage of what you actually receive.
No recovery, no fee. Refunds go from the U.S. Treasury directly to you — we invoice only after your money lands.
From China, Vietnam, or almost anywhere — the struck-down tariffs applied to nearly every origin at 10% to 145%.
That's who we serve. Big enough to be owed six or seven figures; too small for the enterprise recovery giants to call you back.
Most mid-size importers haven't filed. Of those who did, roughly 30% failed validation and don't know why. Both are fixable.
Answer yes to all three and the free estimate will put a number on it within 48 hours, from your own customs data.
We pull your complete entry history, reconcile every dollar of struck-down tariff you paid, prepare the federal declaration, and walk it through validation to payment.
Filed and heard nothing? We audit the stalled declaration, fix the entry-level data that tripped validation, and refile. You may be weeks from payment.
Separate from the court case: federal law refunds 99% of duties on goods you export, destroy, or take back as returns — looking back five years. Most eligible companies have never claimed a dollar. We build the program and file every quarter.
| What you get | What it costs | The catch | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your customs broker | Files entries; may file your refund if asked | Often hourly or per-filing | Brokers are buried in refund filings on top of their day job; recovery isn't their business, and nobody audits for the money you don't know about |
| A trade law firm | Excellent for disputes and litigation | Hourly, or 15–25% contingency | Built for the biggest claims; mid-size engagements get junior attention at senior prices |
| Do it yourself | Keep 100% of the refund | Your team's time | Entry-level CSV validation against federal systems; ~30% of filings fail, and the rejection notices don't say why |
| Katz | Full reconciliation, preparation, filing through a licensed customs broker, and follow-through to payment | A percentage of recovered funds only — below law-firm rates | We only take engagements above $100K of estimated exposure; below that, we'll point you to the self-serve route, free |
Katz Trade Recovery was founded by Michael Katz, who helped build Astral — the software company behind developer tools used by millions — through its acquisition by OpenAI. Katz exists because the economics changed: modern data tooling now makes it viable to recover refunds for mid-size importers, the companies the enterprise recovery firms have always ignored. Claims are filed through a licensed customs broker, as federal regulations require.
Reasonable instinct. The Supreme Court decided Learning Resources v. Trump on February 20, 2026; the Court of International Trade ordered roughly $165 billion refunded; CBP's own website documents the process; NBC and CBS reported $20 billion paid as of mid-May. The only open question is whether your specific claim is filed, clean, and in the queue.
Good — many are trying. Ask them two questions: did the declaration pass file validation, and did anyone check your drawback eligibility? We audit already-filed claims free. If your broker did it right, we'll tell you so and you've lost nothing.
A percentage of recovered funds, quoted up front in the engagement letter — below typical law-firm contingency, and zero if nothing is recovered. No retainers, no hourly bills.
CBP has been paying clean claims 60–90 days after acceptance. Older "finally liquidated" entries are gated behind the next phase of the court process — we prepare those now so you're first in line when it opens. We sell certainty of amount, not certainty of date, and we'll tell you which bucket your entries fall in during the free estimate.
Never. Treasury pays you directly. We invoice after your money arrives. We are also not a law firm and don't pretend to be one — anything contested goes to trade counsel, and we'll tell you when it should.
Tell us who you are; we'll send the one-page ACE report instructions and return your exact refund position within two business days of receiving the data.