After issuing more than $20 billion in tariff refunds, the Trump administration is now pursuing legal action to bring the process to a standstill
Less than two months after the Trump administration rolled out its electronic tariff refund platform, it is now threatening to bring the operation to a standstill. The administration said on Friday it plans to appeal a federal judgeโs order that allowed all U.S. importers the ab
Less than two months after the Trump administration rolled out its electronic tariff refund platform, it is now threatening to bring the operation to a standstill.
The administration said on Friday it plans to appeal a federal judgeโs order that allowed all U.S. importers the ability to seek tariff refunds, not just those who sued the administration. The Supreme Court struck down tariffs President Donald Trump imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) in February, ruling the imposition of the tariffs exceeded the presidentโs powers.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) rolled out the refund process, also known as the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE), in April, creating an online portal through which importers could apply for their slice of the $166 billion in available refunds. According to a CBP court filing from May 26, CAPE has accepted for processing $85 billion in potential and certified refunds, including $20.6 billion sent to the U.S. Treasury Department for disbursement as of May 22. CBP did not disclose in the filing how many entities would receive those disbursements.
The Department of Justice argued in a court filing that Judge Richard K. Eaton exceeded his authority in ordering universal refunds, and that the government cannot issue refunds for importers that have already completed the โliquidationโ process, or when CBP finalized the amount of money owed to an entityโunless that applicant sued to recover money it paid in illegal tariffs.
โCBP has no authority to reliquidate or refund money without a court order,โ the Justice Department said in the filing.
The Justice Department also objected to Eatonโs demand that CBP Commissioner Rodney Scottย appear in the U.S. Court of International Trade to testify on how long it would take for the U.S. to repay all 330,000 U.S. importers potentially eligible for tariff refunds. Eaton denied the Justice Departmentโs request , writing that Scottโs answers would help determine whether the Trump administration planned to fully refund all of the revenue it collected from the IEEPA tariffs.
Trump has repeatedly signalled he would push back against the Supreme Courtโs tariff ruling, saying shortly after the decision it would take years to litigate the refunds . The White House has since imposed a raft of new levies under Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act, used to retaliate against countries the U.S. deemed to have participated in unfair or discriminatory commerce practices, as well as Section 122, who outlines temporary import restrictions. The U.S. Court of International Trade ruled last month that Section 122 tariffs were illegal, and the United States Trade Representative is currently investigating tariffs under Section 301.
The White House did not immediately respond to Fortune โs request for comment.

