A federal trade judge ordered the Trump administration to begin refunding more than $130 billion in tariffs after the Supreme Court struck down the levies last month.
Judge Richard Eaton of the Manhattan-based Court of International Trade issued a written order Wednesday directing the government to begin refunding importers.
Eaton ordered US Customs and Border Protection to issue refunds by calculating the total duties importers paid and factoring in the tariffs recently struck down by the Supreme Court.
The White House was expected to appeal the order, preventing it from taking effect immediately.
The Post has sought comment from the White House.
The Court of International Trade on Monday rejected the Trump administration’s bid to delay lawsuits seeking tariffs refunds, which could pave the way for firms to get back cash they previously paid for the levies.
Prior to Wednesday’s ruling, Justice Department lawyer Claudia Burke told Eaton the Trump administration had yet to take a formal position on tariff refunds, according to the Wall Street Journal.
At that point, Eaton grew impatient, telling Burke: “Your position is clear. The Supreme Court told you what your position is.”
Burke said that the process of refunding tariffs would be time-consuming for CBP since the agency would have to manually go through millions of import entries.
“We live in the age of computers,” Eaton said. “It must be possible for Customs Service to program its computers so it doesn’t need a manual review.”
More than 2,000 lawsuits have been filed by companies seeking to recoup the tariffs, including major firms such as Costco, FedEx and Pandora Jewelry.
Nunzio De Filippis, a customs broker, said he has been inundated with calls from clients but cautioned that Eaton’s order doesn’t guarantee refunds yet.
“The courts still need to figure out the mechanics of how this actually gets unwound,” De Filippis said. “My message to the trade community is to chill out. There’s still a whole process to figure out.”
Companies were already begun lining up at the trade court seeking refunds before the Supreme Court issued its stunning ruling.
The justices struck down the tariffs but did not address whether the government must return the money, leaving the Court of International Trade to determine how repayments should be handled.
The government has sent mixed signals about the matter.
Shortly after the Supreme Court ruling, Trump criticized justices for failing to clarify whether the government could keep the money.
“Wouldn’t you think they would have put one sentence in there, saying: ‘Keep the money,’ or ‘Don’t keep the money,’ right?” the president told reporters. “I guess it has to get litigated for the next two years.”
Government lawyers previously told lower courts that companies could be “made whole through a refund, including interest” if the tariffs were ultimately ruled unlawful.
Last month, the Supreme Court struck down most of the sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs that Trump imposed last year, ruling that the president improperly relied on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to levy the duties.
Trump quickly moved to preserve the centerpiece of his trade policy, announcing a new round of levies under a different statute — Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974.
The global tariff rate is currently set at a baseline 10%, though the administration has said it plans to raise it to 15%.
A coalition of state attorneys general including New York’s Letitia James planned Thursday to file a new suit opposing the revised tariff regime, calling it an illegal end-run around the Supreme Court ruling.
“After the Supreme Court rejected his first attempt to impose sweeping tariffs, the president is causing more economic chaos and expecting Americans to foot the bill,” James told CNBC.
“President Trump is ignoring the law and the Constitution to effectively raise taxes on consumers and small businesses,” she added.
