The US Court of International Trade is pressing the Trump administration to speed up tariff refunds of billions of dollars to thousands of importers, following a partial roll-out after the US Supreme Court struck down its global tariffs in February.
“The time has come to refund all the duties,” said Judge Richard Eaton on Tuesday, adding that the delay is leading to a “growing inequity” between big importers and small businesses.
The judge did not issue any new order but noted that the government’s recent decision to challenge his earlier directive to refund “any and all” tariffs collected under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) is resulting in delays.
Appearing before the court, Customs and Border Patrol’s (CBP) executive assistant commissioner for trade, Susan Thomas, said that the agency planned to refund the remaining tariffs at a later date.
“We can’t do it all at once,” Thomas told the court.
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According to the CBP, of the estimated US$166 billion collected under the now-illegal tariffs, the agency has accepted and begun processing roughly US$90 billion in claims. Around US$23 billion has already been processed under phase one, with total planned refunds expected to reach US$127 billion by the end of the process.
