Tariff uncertainty returns

U.S. tariff policy is back in play after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said many of President Donald Trump’s struck-down tariff rates could return by early July. (bloomberg.com) Bessent said on April 14 that the administration would use new Section 301 investigations to try to restore rates the Supreme Court knocked out in a February 20 ruling. The Court held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not let a president impose tariffs. (bloomberglaw.com) (supremecourt.gov) At the same time, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it plans to open its refund system on April 20 for importers seeking repayment of about $166 billion in duties collected under the unlawful tariff program. The agency said the first phase of the system, called Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, or CAPE, has been completed. (reuters.com) (supplychaindive.com) The two tracks leave companies planning for opposite outcomes at once: refunds for duties already paid, and possible new tariffs on future shipments. The Court of International Trade has been supervising the refund process after ordering Customs to repay importers covered by the Supreme Court decision. (reuters.com) (sullcrom.com) Section 301 is a different legal tool from the emergency-powers law the Supreme Court rejected. It lets the United States Trade Representative investigate foreign trade practices and impose tariffs after a formal process, which is why Bessent pointed to it as the administration’s path back to higher rates. (bloomberg.com) (ustr.gov) Importers and retailers have pushed for refunds and lower duties, arguing the tariffs raised costs and scrambled supply chains. Some domestic manufacturers are making the opposite case, with Whirlpool chief executive Marc Bitzer telling Canadian Broadcasting Corporation News that tariffs helped create a “level playing field,” while U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer used factory visits in Ohio and Michigan to argue the policy supports production at home. (cbc.ca) (politico.com) Law firms and trade advisers say the refund process itself will not be automatic for every company. Customs has told the trade court that CAPE will combine eligible refunds into one electronic payment, and lawyers have urged importers to verify entry data and payment instructions before the portal opens. (skadden.com) (customsandinternationaltradelaw.com) The numbers are large enough to matter beyond trade lawyers and customs brokers. Skadden said roughly 330,000 importers paid the duties across more than 53 million entries, and the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimated recent metal tariff changes and refunds could reduce federal revenue by about $90 billion. (skadden.com) (crfb.org) For now, the calendar is driving the story: April 20 for refund claims, and early July for a possible return of old rates under a new legal theory. Until one of those dates passes, importers, manufacturers and customs brokers are all pricing goods under rules that could shift again within weeks. (reuters.com) (bloomberg.com)