US Supreme Court begins process of massive refunds after Trump tariffs overturned
Kyiv • UNN
The court ordered customs to automatically refund 330,000 companies. Payments do not apply to end consumers and may take several years.
The U.S. Court of International Trade has issued an order requiring Customs and Border Protection to automatically refund all importers who paid duties under the IEEPA law. This was reported by Bloomberg, writes UNN.
Details
This decision was a logical continuation of the Supreme Court's ruling of February 20, which declared the tariffs imposed by the Donald Trump administration illegal. According to preliminary estimates, the amount of refunds could reach $166 billion, covering more than 53 million transactions from 330,000 companies.
Who is eligible for payments
According to the clarified order of Judge Richard Eaton, all registered importers are entitled to a refund, regardless of whether they filed individual lawsuits. The refunds apply to goods for which the duty liquidation procedure has not yet been completed or finalized.
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At the same time, the mechanism does not provide for payments to end consumers or commercial customers, although they were the ones who actually paid these tariffs through rising retail prices.
All registered importers whose records were subject to IEEPA duties are eligible to benefit from the court's decision. The government will not pay refunds to end commercial customers or individual consumers, even if they actually incurred the costs.
Technical delays and implementation deadlines
U.S. Customs has already stated the logistical impossibility of immediate compliance with the order due to the unprecedented volume of operations. The agency is currently developing a new digital function to automate payments, which will take at least 45 days to prepare. Lawyers warn businesses that despite optimistic forecasts, the actual receipt of money into accounts could be delayed for several months due to possible appeals from the government.
We'll end up in court for the next five years. This will be a multi-year mess because the volume of refunds is extraordinary for the government system.
Experts advise companies to streamline their import data now and prepare for potential legal disputes with customers who may demand their share of the compensation received.