Trade Court Halts Immediate Tariff Refunds as CBP Plans 45-Day System

Overview

• The U.S. Court of International Trade suspended Judge Richard Eaton’s order that directed Customs to start reimbursing tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court.
• Earlier in the day, Eaton had pressed for an administrative pathway and held a closed conciliation conference to shape refund procedures for tens of millions of entries.
• In a court filing, CBP said it is building a mechanism to return about $166 billion to roughly 330,000 importers and argued current tools cannot handle the scale.
• The agency outlined a plan using its ACE system requiring brief importer submissions, validation by CBP, payment with interest via a single Treasury disbursement per importer, and no date yet for completing payouts.
• Trade attorneys report CBP has been rejecting Post-Summary Corrections and suspending protests related to these tariffs, prolonging uncertainty and driving more claims back to litigation.