US judge orders refunds for more than $130bn in illegal Trump tariffs

A US trade court judge has ordered the government to begin issuing refunds, with interest, for over $130 billion in illegal tariffs collected under the Trump administration's trade policy. The order, issued by Judge Richard Eaton of the US Court of International Trade, follows a Supreme Court ruling that deemed the tariffs illegal. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been directed to finalize entry costs on shipments without assessing the tariff, a process the agency claims is unprecedented in scale, potentially requiring manual review of over 70 million entries. While CBP requested up to four months to assess refund options, the judge has requested an update on CBP's refund plans at a hearing on Friday. The case originated from a complaint by Atmus Filtration, which paid approximately $11 million in illegal tariffs.

A federal judge in New York ruled that companies are entitled to refunds for tariffs imposed by the Trump administration that were overturned by the Supreme Court last month. Judge Richard Eaton stated that all importers are eligible for refunds following the Supreme Court's decision that President Trump's tariffs, enacted under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), were unconstitutional. The Supreme Court determined that the president cannot unilaterally set tariffs, as that power belongs to Congress. Judge Eaton will oversee cases related to these tariff refunds, potentially worth $175 billion. The ruling clarifies the refund process, ordering customs to cease collecting the IEEPA tariffs and recalculate duties for goods already processed.