This message replaces CSMS 67647279 published on February 6, 2026.
This updated guidance provides importer instructions for requesting AGOA and Haiti HOPE/HELP retroactive duty refunds.
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2026 Reauthorization
On February 3, 2026, the President signed H.R.7148 (“the Act”), extending duty-free treatment through December 31, 2026, for imports from eligible African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) beneficiary countries and select imports from Haiti under the Haiti/HOPE and Haiti/HELP programs, for imports entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption. The Act extends special rules for Haiti under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act.
The Act also provides for retroactive duty refunds (without interest) of ad valorem duties paid on eligible imports entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption during the lapse of these programs from October 1, 2025, through February 3, 2026. Retroactive duty refunds are applicable only to the Column 1 ad valorem duties paid during the lapse. Refunds made pursuant to the Act are not available for merchandise processing fees or any other type of duty.
Additionally, this guidance is to inform the Trade that effective Friday, February 6, 2026, 12:01 A.M., importers were able to resume claiming preferential benefits for eligible AGOA non-textiles products by filing entries with the special program indicator SPI “D”, and for eligible AGOA and Haiti textile products by filing the applicable textile Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) tariff number along with the qualified chapter 98 HTSUS numbers provided below.
Applicable entries filed after February 3, 2026, are considered current preferential claims with all normal avenues available for changes to entries including Post Summary Correction (PSC), Protest, etc.
Further, effective Monday, February 9, 2026, 12:01 A.M. importers were able to resume claiming preferential benefits on applicable imports under the reestablished quota programs for eligible imports from AGOA beneficiary countries and Haiti.
For eligible quota entries filed between February 4 through February 8, 2026, quota was processed once it was reestablished for both programs.
Further, this message is to inform the Trade that pursuant to Presidential Proclamation 11030 issued May 19, 2026, the Gabonese Republic (Gabon) has been reinstated as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country under AGOA, effective January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2026. Non-textile imports from Gabon will receive preferential benefits as provided under General Note 16 of the HTSUS. Textile products of Gabon are not eligible for benefits.
AGOA Textile Program
The HTSUS Chapter 98, subchapter XIX identifies HTSUS Chapter 1-97 AGOA eligible textile goods.
Twelve (12) HTSUS 98 numbers are associated with AGOA textile commodities: 9819.11.03, 9819.11.06, 9819.11.09, 9819.11.12, 9819.11.15, 9819.11.18, 9819.11.21, 9819.11.24, 9819.11.27, 9819.11.30, 9819.11.33, 9802.00.80.42.
Haiti HOPE/HELP Textile Program
Haiti HOPE/HELP programs provide preferential treatment for imports of apparel, textiles, and wire harness classified under HTSUS 8544.42.9090.
The HTSUS, U.S. Note 6 of Chapter 98, Subchapter XX of the HTSUS, lists the 98 numbers assigned to this program for commodities under HTSUS chapter 42, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65 and more.
Thirteen (13) HTSUS 98 numbers are associated with Haiti textile commodities: 9820.42.05, 9820.61.25, 9820.61.30, 9820.61.35, 9820.61.40, 9820.61.45, 9820.62.05, 9820.62.12, 9820.62.20, 9820.62.25, 9820.62.30, 9820.63.05, 9820.65.05.
Haiti HOPE - Earned Import Allowance Program (EIAP)
Earned Import Allowance Certificates issued by the Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, Office of Textiles and Apparel must be submitted electronically within the 52 record (License/Permit/Certificate (LPC) Type Code “13”) to claim earned import allowance credits for qualifying fabric under the Haiti HOPE program.
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Importer Instructions for Requesting Retroactive Duty Refund
Eligible AGOA and Haiti HOPE/HELP entries submitted during the lapse (October 01, 2025, through February 3, 2026) and for which ad valorem duties were paid are allowed to submit a retroactive duty refund request to CBP no later than August 2, 2026.
1. Unliquidated Entries and filing Post Summary Corrections (PSC):
Filers must submit a retroactive refund request via PSC for unliquidated entries within 180 days of the Act's enactment date.
To ensure timely processing in the weekly liquidation cycle, filers must submit an Accelerated Liquidation Request with their PSC submission using the appropriate ABI indicator (liquidation reason code 37 - Filer request for refund.)
The “PSC Filing Explanation” must clearly state 'Retroactive AGOA Duty Refund' or ‘Retroactive Haiti Duty Refund’ and reference the relevant CSMS message number and date – CSMS # 68987884, dated June 18, 2026.
PSC refund requests related to Non-Textile products under the AGOA preference program must include the SPI “D” on the PSC entry.
PSC refund requests related to Textile products under AGOA and Haiti HOPE/HELP preference programs must be completed to include the following:
a) File the Chapter 1-97 HTSUS tariff code together with the applicable HTSUS chapter 98 number mentioned above under headings labeled, “AGOA Textile Program and “Haiti HOPE/HELP Textile Program.”
b) Visas issued by AGOA or Haiti government authorities are not required to claim retroactive refunds for AGOA and Haiti HOPE/HELP eligible textile imports. However, ACE system validations require that a number be entered in the LPC Perm Cert # field in the 52-record when a PSC pairs HTSUS chapter 98 with the associated HTSUS textile commodity code.
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- If a visa number for an entry made during the lapse is available, it may be entered in the 52-record when filing the PSC.
- For AGOA, if no visa number is available, please use the following placeholder: 9XX999999, where XX is the ISO country code for the country of origin of the goods. For example, 9KE999999, would be used for textile eligible goods from Kenya.
- For Haiti HOPE/HELP, if no visa number is available, please use the following placeholder: XHT999999, where X is the calendar year of export (enter 5 for 2025 or 6 for 2026). For example, 5HT999999 would be used for textile goods eligible for HOPE/HELP exported in calendar year 2025.
c) The SPI "D" must not be filed with textiles entries.
Note: PSCs filed later than 180 days after the Act's enactment date (after August 2, 2026) for eligible AGOA and Haiti HOPE/HELP entry summaries that occurred during the lapse period will be rejected, and the retroactive duty refund will not be issued.
2. Liquidated Entries and filing Protest within the Protest Period:
For liquidated entries, a protest must be submitted no later than 180 days after the Act's enactment date – by August 2, 2026. The “Reason for Protest” field must clearly state “Retroactive AGOA Duty Refund” or “Retroactive Haiti Duty Refund” and reference the relevant CSMS message number and date - CSMS # 68987884, dated June 18, 2026. A Certificate of Origin and a costed bill of materials including origin of each material must be submitted to support each refund request.
Note: Protests filed later than 180 days after the Act's enactment date (after August 2, 2026) for eligible AGOA or Haiti HOPE/HELP entries that occurred during the lapse period will be denied, and the retroactive duty refund will not be issued.
3. Liquidated Entries and Submitting Duty Refund Requests Past the Protest Period:
Filers must submit a written request for liquidated entries that are past the protest period by no later than 180 days after the Act’s date - by August 2, 2026. If the request is filed after August 2, 2026, it will be denied and the refund will not be issued.
Filers must transmit written requests electronically to the ACE Document Image System (DIS), for eligible liquidated AGOA or Haiti HOPE/HELP entries.
If submitting to DIS via Electronic Data Interface, use the Document Label: AGOA_REFUND or HAITI_REFUND.
If submitting to DIS via email, the document filename must include Doc-Code CBP176 (for AGOA) or Doc-Code CBP177 (for Haiti).
For DIS submissions, an email must also be sent to the Center of Excellence and Expertise (Center) based on the Center team code on the entry summary. The subject line on the email to the Center should read “AGOA Refund Request- Entry# XXX-XXXXXXX” or “Haiti Refund Request- Entry# XXX-XXXXXXX.” Center email addresses for each Center are at the Center Directory at cbp.gov: https://www.cbp.gov/trade/centers-excellence-and-expertise-information/cee-directory
Guidance for how to submit documents to DIS is found in the DIS Implementation Guide located at: https://www.cbp.gov/document/guidance/ace-dis-implementation-guide.
4. Quota Entries and Submitting Duty Refund Requests:
Quota is not retroactive. However, for eligible entries made during the lapse that would have qualified for in-quota rates, any ad valorem duties paid exceeding the in-quota rate will be refunded.
PSC/Protest filed on eligible quota textile products must include the textile-related HTSUS tariff code from Chapters 1-97. Additionally, one of the following HTSUS Chapter 98 numbers must be added: 9819.11.09 (for visa type 4) or 9819.11.12 (for visa type 5).
The SPI "D" must not be filed with these entries.
Applicable entries made starting Monday, February 9, 2026, may resume access to quota preferential treatment.
Instructions on how to file by quota program may be found at:
Filing for International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) Duty Refunds
Filers are prohibited from initiating an IEEPA duty refund request by filing a PSC.
PSCs that are filed for any issue, must be filed prior to submitting an IEEPA duty refund request via a Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) Declaration, including PSC requests for retroactive refund on entries eligible for duty free treatment due to the AGOA and the Haiti HOPE/HELP program lapse.
Once a CAPE Declaration is filed and accepted, a PSC cannot be filed.
Imports Subject to Antidumping and Countervailing Duties (AD/CVD)
Eligible AGOA and Haiti HOPE/HELP entries subject to AD/CVD duties will be able to request administrative refund for Column 1 duties, but not for AD/CVD duties.
Imports Subject to Section 232 Trade Remedy Actions
Eligible AGOA and Haiti HOPE/HELP goods that are subject to Section 232 duties or quotas in accordance with 19 USC 2463(b)(2), may not receive AGOA or Haiti HOPE/HELP duty preference. Therefore, imports from AGOA or Haiti HOPE/HELP that are subject to Section 232 duties are not eligible for retroactive duty refund.
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Entry Summaries with Section 232 Lines and non-Section 232 Lines - Entry summaries containing eligible AGOA or Haiti HOPE/HELP goods subject to Section 232 as well as goods not subject to Section 232 will be liquidated in its entirety for the processing of the retroactive refund for the eligible AGOA and Haiti HOPE/HELP entry lines. Filers waiting for Department of Commerce Exclusion IDs are encouraged to file a protest to re-open eligible liquidated entry line.
- Section 232 list of commodities is available at: https://www.cbp.gov/trade/programs-administration/trade-remedies.
