Trump administration faces pressure to return billions after SCOTUS ruling
While the U.S. Court of International Trade offered the Trump administration some relief to process tariff funds in terms of the timeline on Friday, federal judge Richard Eaton sought a progress report regarding the return of more than $160 billion in tariffs recently struck down by the Supreme Court by Thursday afternoon. Last month, in a 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court held that the administration overstepped its constitutional authority by invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs.
🚨 Today, the Court of International Trade ruled that companies subjected to President Trump’s illegal tariffs are legally entitled to refunds. The Trump administration must move quickly to reimburse the thousands of small businesses in Virginia and across the country that bore… https://t.co/sI5R7nA3yV
— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) March 4, 2026
Which SCOTUS did not direct the government on any specific ways in which the tariffs would be refunded, in his dissenting opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh said that the federal government "may be required to refund billions of dollars to importers who paid the IEEPA tariffs, even though some importers may have already passed on costs to consumers or others…the Court's decision could generate uncertainty regarding various trade agreements. That process, too, could be difficult," as per SCOTUSblog.
On Wednesday, the Court of International Trade ruled that companies subjected to Trump’s illegal tariffs are entitled to refunds. The Administration must swiftly reimburse the thousands of small businesses across the country that bore the brunt of Trump’s harmful tariffs.
— Senator Tim Kaine (@SenTimKaine) March 9, 2026
Meanwhile, the U.S. Court of International Trade has been hearing a surge of cases from companies seeking refunds for Trump's "illegal" tariffs. During a March 4 hearing, Judge Eaton directed U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to stop liquidating entries subject to the IEEPA duties and to begin the process of reliquidating those already assessed without regard to the struck-down tariffs immediately. At a later hearing, CBP officials expressed their concerns and said that they needed at least 45 days to set up an automated system Brandon Lord, executive director of CBP’s Trade Policy and Programs, stated in a court declaration that "CBP is confident that it can develop and implement new ACE functionality that will streamline and consolidate refunds and interest payments on an importer basis." This system would reportedly automatically recalculate duties and aggregate refunds with interest, with the Thursday progress report serving as the first test of whether this timeline is realistic.
“Can’t” or “won’t?” The Supreme Court overturned Trump’s illegal tariffs, but his administration keeps coming up with every excuse in the book to keep the money. Americans are waiting for their refunds! pic.twitter.com/JmALsR4QwQ
— Rep. John Larson (@RepJohnLarson) March 9, 2026
Legal analysts and government officials agree that the existing system was never built to handle a tidal wave of this magnitude. As per a Fox Rothschild report, as of March 4, over 330,000 importers had filed more than 53 million entries subject to IEEPA duties, accounting for approximately $166 billion in collected tariffs and deposits. As businesses, including Nintendo, Costco, FedEx, and Pandora Jewelry, continue to demand their money back, the Trump administration has taken further steps to ensure large import duties remain functional. The administration has implemented a 15% global surcharge workaround under Section 122 of the Trade Act. This, however, limits the tenure of such tariffs to 150 days and has already been challenged in court by 24 states.
