Judge orders U.S. Customs to process refunds on illegal Trump tariffs
CNBC • • nation
Key Points:
- A U.S. trade court judge, Richard Eaton, ordered the government to start paying potentially billions in refunds to importers who paid tariffs deemed illegally collected by the Supreme Court last month, including interest on those refunds.
- Eaton directed Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to finalize shipment entry costs without assessing the tariffs, a process known as liquidation, enabling refunds to be issued efficiently.
- CBP described the refund process as "unprecedented" due to the scale, involving over 70 million entries, and requested up to four months to explore refund options; however, the judge emphasized CBP's routine ability to issue refunds.
- The case stems from lawsuits by importers like Atmus Filtration, which paid about $11
