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A federal judge ordered the Trump administration on Wednesday to begin the drawn-out task of refunding billions of dollars to companies that paid tariffs the Supreme Court recently invalidated.
Judge Richard Eaton, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, laid out the estimated $130 billion refund process in a three-page order, saying it would begin with U.S. Customs and Border Protection calculating what importers would have paid without the now-invalid tariffs. Eaton also made clear he had sole jurisdiction over the refunds, which more than 1,000 companies have sued over in the U.S. Court of International Trade.
“The Chief Judge has indicated that I am the only judge who will hear cases pertaining to the refund of [International Emergency Economic Powers Act] duties,” Eaton wrote. “So there is no danger that another Judge, even one in this Court, will reach any contrary conclusions.”
The case in question was brought by Atmus Filtration, Inc., a company that paid President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which Trump imposed on nearly every country on an emergency basis under IEEPA last year.
President Donald Trump shows off non-reciprocal tariff examples. (Mandel Ngan/Getty Images)
The IEEPA is a 1977 law that allows the president – after declaring a national emergency in response to foreign threats – to regulate or block certain economic transactions, such as by imposing sanctions.
The Supreme Court decided 6-3 in February to block Trump’s use of the emergency law to impose sweeping tariffs on trading partners. The majority held that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs, even after a national emergency declaration, because Congress did not clearly grant the executive branch that power.
All importers who paid those duties were entitled to benefit from the Supreme Court’s ruling, Eaton said.
Eaton said CBP should calculate the affected imports as if the tariffs had never applied, which the judge signaled would eventually pave the way for refunds to the companies.
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The facade of the Supreme Court building at dusk is shown in this file photo. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The Supreme Court majority left the refund process unaddressed in its decision, leaving it to the lower courts to mete out. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, however, questioned in his dissent how the U.S. Treasury could go about refunding companies to the tune of billions of dollars, warning of “serious practical consequences.”
“The United States 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,” Kavanaugh wrote. “As was acknowledged at oral argument, the refund process is likely to be a ‘mess.’”
Eaton disputed that notion during a hearing just prior to issuing his order.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh dissented in a major Supreme Court decision striking down Trump’s emergency tariffs. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
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“There is nothing particularly novel about the provision of refunds. … I believe that there will be no chaos associated with the provision of these refunds and that it will not result in a mess,” Eaton said, according to Politico.
The Trump administration indicated during the hearing that it is likely to appeal Eaton’s order to delay it from taking effect. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
Eaton is set to preside over a closed-door conference with the parties in the case on Friday to further discuss the refund process.
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