News / 'Some good news' on refunds for US importers as tariff ruling looms

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Importers wait with bated breath for the US Supreme Court’s decision on the legality of the Trump administration’s tariff policy, but they received some good news this week in a double announcement from the US Court of International Trade.

Rejecting government efforts to amend the way International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariff cases are handled, the lower court also confirmed that the government’s pledge to repay unlawfully collected tariffs was not limited to companies that filed cases.

The court said: “The panel confirms that the government’s stipulation regarding re-liquidation applies to all current and future similarly situated plaintiffs.”

Describing the decision as “refreshingly clear”, Baker Tilly’s director of global trade advisory services, Pete Mento, said it was “some good news” while the industry waited to learn whether the IEEPA tariffs were legal.

“The Court of International Trade did something refreshingly clear, it confirmed that the government’s IEEPA refund promise applies to everyone who is similarly situated, not just the lucky few that filed first,” he said.

“The US has formally said the quiet part out loud. If Scotus ultimately rules that these tariffs were unlawfully collected, Customs will refund them. Full stop. And yes, that includes tariffs on India and Brazil, even though those weren’t front-and-centre in the Scotus cases.”

It follows months of anxiety around refunds, with concerns that importers would only be eligible for these if their entries had not yet been through the process of ‘liquidation’, based on the declared value and applicable duty rates for each shipment at time of entry, a process Customs undertakes to finalise the duties, fees, and taxes owed – a final determination all but binding.

In December, the Department of Justice (DOJ) told the Court of International Trade the administration would not stand in the way of tariff refunds should the Supreme Court rule against their validity, but this latest decision confirms all importers will be saved.

“It removes one of the biggest sources of handwringing – whether importers need emergency injunctions or perfectly timed filings to preserve refunds. They don’t. Government has agreed the court has authority to order reliquidation; it’s not planning to fight that,” said Mr Mento.

But he also said the court’s decision to block DOJ efforts to hand over decision-making authority on the issue to a “steering committee circus” was “just as important”, because it left the court in charge and ensured “cases move forward in an orderly way”.

He added: “Refunds aren’t available yet – but the legal runway is now clearly paved. The government has boxed itself in, on purpose, and the court made sure the box stays closed. Now we wait on Scotus.

“The people who prepared early will sleep better than those explaining to their board why they didn’t.”