A judge of the United States Court of International Trade has directed the U.S. government to begin issuing refunds to companies that paid tariffs later ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court of the United States.
In an order delivered on Wednesday, Judge Richard Eaton instructed federal authorities to start calculating and paying back billions of dollars to importers who were charged the tariffs during the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. The judge also ruled that the refunds must include interest.
The ruling requires the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to complete the process of determining the final value of imported goods that entered the United States without applying the disputed tariffs. Once the value is finalized, the agency must return the excess payments to affected businesses.
Under the U.S. import system, companies typically pay an estimated tariff when goods arrive at the border. The final amount owed is calculated months later in a process known as “liquidation,” which usually occurs about 314 days after entry. Eaton ordered CBP to finalize those calculations for shipments affected by the illegal tariffs and issue the resulting refunds.
During a court hearing, the judge noted that customs officials already handle similar refund procedures when importers overpay duties, suggesting the agency should be able to implement the process. He emphasized that issuing reimbursements is part of CBP’s routine operations.
To monitor progress, Eaton scheduled another hearing for Friday and asked the government to provide updates on how it intends to carry out the large-scale refunds. The court’s chief judge has also indicated that Eaton will oversee all related tariff refund cases moving forward.
CBP, however, has argued in court documents that the situation is unprecedented. According to the agency, recalculating duties for shipments without applying the tariffs could involve reviewing more than 70 million individual import entries, many of which may require manual examination. The agency had previously requested up to four months to evaluate how best to handle the refunds.
The tariffs in question were imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), a law that allows U.S. presidents to regulate economic activity during national emergencies. The duties were a central element of Trump’s trade policies and reportedly generated more than $130 billion in revenue for the U.S. government.
However, after the Supreme Court ruled that the tariffs were collected illegally, uncertainty arose over how companies would recover the money. The court’s decision did not provide detailed guidance on the reimbursement process, leaving federal agencies and importers seeking clarification.
One of the cases prompting the latest order was filed by filtration technology company Atmus Filtration Technologies, which said it had paid approximately $11 million in the disputed tariffs. The lawsuit is among nearly 2,000 cases brought before the trade court by companies seeking repayment.
Judge Eaton indicated he does not want the court to handle each claim individually. Instead, he encouraged the development of a standardized process that would allow affected businesses to request refunds without lengthy litigation.
More than 300,000 importers are believed to have paid the tariffs. Many of them are small businesses that fear a complex or expensive claims process could discourage companies from seeking reimbursement.
Trade lawyer George Tuttle said there should be no barriers preventing Customs officials from issuing the refunds, noting that the agency routinely handles similar cases when duties are overpaid.
Legal experts say the government could still challenge the scope of the order or request additional time to implement the refund process, given the scale of the task facing customs authorities.
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