A U.S. trade court judge has directed the federal government to begin refunding tariffs to businesses that the Supreme Court recently ruled unlawful.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of International Trade ordered Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to refund tariffs imposed last year by President Donald Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
The ruling requires federal authorities to return the collected levies, marking a significant legal setback for the Trump administration’s trade policy.
“All importers of record whose entries were subject to IEEPA duties are entitled to the benefit,” Judge Richard Eaton wrote.
Any company that paid these specific emergency tariffs is now eligible for the refund. The case was initiated by Atmus Filtration, a Tennessee-based filtration company. Although it began with a single complaint, Judge Eaton stated that he will oversee all cases related to these refund claims.
In February, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Trump’s tariffs as unconstitutional, including broad ‘reciprocal’ duties applied to nearly every nation. The Court’s majority opinion held that the U.S. president lacks the authority to unilaterally impose or adjust tariffs, noting that the power to levy taxes resides with Congress.
Under the IEEPA, the administration had collected an estimated $130 billion (£97 billion) from tariffs on most imported goods.
Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the United States is ‘likely’ to implement a new 15% global tariff this week, raising the rate from the previous 10%. The measure is intended to replace the IEEPA-based duties that were struck down by the Supreme Court.
CBP previously informed the court that processing refunds could be highly complex due to the vast number of shipments affected. Court filings indicate that the agency may need to review over 70 million import entries, many requiring manual checks, and Customs requested up to four months to determine how to manage the refunds.
Judge Eaton has scheduled another hearing for Friday to examine the agency’s proposed plan.
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