Trump plans to appeal order that allowed importers tariff refunds

Businesses big and small have started receiving tariff refunds after the US Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump lacked the constitutional authority to impose higher import taxes on goods from nearly every other country.The process could grind to a halt, however, after the Trump administration said Friday that it intended to appeal a federal judge’s order to allow all companies that paid the invalidated duties to seek refunds, not just the ones that filed lawsuits.Until the Department of Justice informed the judge of its planned appeal, the refund system overseen by US Customs and Border Protection had worked fairly smoothly.Refunds reached the bank accounts of the first successful applicants on May 12, about three weeks after importers and their customs brokers could start submitting claims, according to CBP.Applications for refunds totaling $85 billion — more than half of the $166 billion the agency estimated the government owes to companies that paid the tariffs on imported goods — were accepted for processing as of May 22, CBP reported in a legal filing earlier in the week.

It said it had so far directed the Treasury Department to issue $20.6 billion in refunds.The administration revealed its appeal preparations while objecting to a demand by Judge Richard K.Eaton for CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott to appear in the US Court of International Trade on June 9.

The judge said he wants to know how long it would take to repay all 330,000 importers that might be eligible for refunds and whether he should require the government to speed up the process.Justice Department lawyers asked Eaton to allow Scott’s deputies to appear in his place, arguing that as a high-ranking presidential appointee, the CBP chief could not be compelled to testify.They also argued that Eaton exceeded his authority when he determined that the Supreme Court’s ruling entitled “all importers of record’’ to refunds.“For that reason, defendants intend to appe...