Trump announces appeal against refund of billions in tariffs

The Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a notice on Friday (29) stating that it will challenge the court order that requires customs authorities to recalculate all import taxes collected by the administration. The taxes in question had been imposed by President Trump based on an emergency powers law from the 1970s, also according to the agency.

The government’s initiative comes at a time when US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) itself launched a new online portal on April 20 that intends to process refund claims. The movement signaled the agency’s initial intention to return at least part of the billions in fees that were overturned by the Supreme Court at the beginning of the year.

Even moving forward with implementation of the portal, the Justice Department refused to accept that a single judge’s decision could exercise nationwide power to order CBP to reprocess customs entries that had already been finalized — a technical procedure known as “settlement.” This stance leaves the way open for a new and prolonged battle in the courts.

“CBP does not have the authority to reliquidate or refund amounts without a specific court order,” the Justice Department stated in the petition filed Friday.

Comprehensive dispute

At the heart of the litigation is the question of whether or not a foreign trade judge has the prerogative to order refunds on a national scale for all importers who paid surcharges issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), including for companies that have not formally filed individual claims in commercial court.

The United States’ defense suggests that the government should only reimburse importers who sued the judiciary. Washington’s argument is that the magistrate’s order would resemble a nationwide injunction, a mechanism that would have been vetoed by a recent Supreme Court decision in the context of a legal dispute over the right to citizenship by birth.

The signal that the government will appeal was formalized amid an objection to the judge’s order that CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott appear in person at a hearing scheduled for June 9.

The Justice Department argued that the current scenario does not constitute the type of “extraordinary circumstances” required to compel a high-ranking official to testify in court. The government said that it will also appeal this requirement if the magistrate upholds the decision.

Judge Richard Eaton, overseeing the case, promptly denied the government’s request. In his order, Eaton wrote that Scott’s in-person testimony is essential to clarify whether the Trump administration intends, in fact, to fully refund the tariffs collected from all affected importers, “large and small.”

“There is $166 billion involved,” Judge Eaton highlighted in his ruling.

When contacted by the report, the White House did not respond to requests for comment from the Bloomberg.

Supreme Court ruling

On February 20, the US Supreme Court ruled, by 6 votes to 3, against Trump’s use of emergency economic powers, based on Ieepa, from 1977. The Republican leader used the legislation in April last year to justify customs duties he called “reciprocal” against several countries, including Brazil.

Hours after the decision was released, Trump signed an executive order to impose a 10% global tariff based on Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows temporary tariffs for up to 150 days to address severe trade deficits.