Trade Court Drives Fast-Track Plan to Repay $165 Billion in Illegal Tariffs

Overview

• The Supreme Court in February invalidated tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and remanded refund implementation to the U.S. Court of International Trade.
• On March 4, Judge Richard Eaton ordered Customs and Border Protection to issue refunds and extended relief to all affected importers by invoking the court’s nationwide and exclusive jurisdiction.
• CBP told the court on March 6 it could not comply immediately and sought roughly 45 days to build an automated ACE mechanism to process mass refunds.
• Eaton accepted the need for automation but required expedited progress reporting, noting about $165 billion is owed and interest is accruing at roughly $650 million per month.
• The court is receiving regular status updates, including one this past Thursday, as CBP develops its system and a growing docket of refund cases proceeds in parallel.