Court orders Trump to pay back hundreds of billions of dollars in illegal tariffs

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Supreme Court has ordered the Trump administration to refund billions of dollars in illegal tariffs to importers.

Reuters reports that the judge ordered the government to determine the final value of goods imported into the United States without charging duties and to reimburse importers for losses, plus interest.

When goods are imported into the United States, the importer pays an estimated amount, which is then finally determined after about 314 days, a process known as liquidation. The judge ordered Customs and Border Protection to determine the final value of the goods imported without charging duties, which will result in a refund.

The U.S. government has collected more than $130 billion in illegal tariffs that have been a key element of Trump’s trade policy. The court did not provide guidance on how the refunds will be paid, which has created confusion about how importers will be compensated.

The court’s decision was a response to a lawsuit by Atmus Filtration. In addition to it, about 2,000 companies filed claims for compensation for duties.

Recall that the US Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump cannot use emergency powers to impose duties and canceled the duties on imports of goods into the US, which the American president introduced last year against almost all countries in the world. A day after the Supreme Court’s decision, Trump announced that he plans to set a new global duty rate of 15% instead of the previous 10%.

Tags: USA, duties