Supreme Court Halts Tariffs

The Supreme Court said on February 20 that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not let a president impose tariffs, knocking out a central piece of Donald Trump’s 2025 trade program. (supremecourt.gov) In *Learning Resources v. Trump*, the Court reviewed tariffs tied to two emergency declarations: drug-trafficking measures on Canada, Mexico, and China, and a separate “reciprocal” tariff program aimed at trade deficits. The opinion says those orders included 25% duties on most Canadian and Mexican imports, 10% duties on most Chinese imports, and a baseline 10% duty on imports from all trading partners, with higher rates for dozens of countries. (supremecourt.gov) The justices did not spell out the refund process in that ruling. The next step came in the U.S. Court of International Trade, which, according to Skadden’s summary of the case docket, ordered U.S. Customs and Border Protection to refund about $165 billion in unlawfully collected duties. (skadden.com) Customs says more than 330,000 importers paid the duties across more than 53 million entries. That scale explains why the agency built a new claims system instead of handling refunds one shipment at a time. (skadden.com) The new system is called Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, or CAPE. Customs says CAPE sits inside its Automated Commercial Environment portal and is meant to streamline valid refund requests for duties collected under the emergency-powers law. (cbp.gov) Phase 1 opened on Monday, April 20, when importers and customs brokers became able to file refund requests in the ACE portal by uploading a comma-separated values file listing affected entry numbers. Customs says the CAPE tab is available in importer, organizational broker, and filer sub-accounts. (cbp.gov) Customs says the system will consolidate refunds of International Emergency Economic Powers Act duties, including interest, rather than issuing separate payments for each entry. The agency also says a validated filing will generate a CAPE claim number for tracking. (cbp.gov (cbp.gov) Importers still have paperwork to finish before money can move. Customs requires Automated Clearing House enrollment for electronic refunds, and its ACE guidance says companies should complete that setup before a refund is issued to avoid rejections. (cbp.gov 1) (cbp.gov 2) The legal fight turned on a narrow but important question: whether a sanctions law can be used as a tariff law. The Supreme Court answered no, holding that the emergency statute did not authorize the tariff orders at issue. (supremecourt.gov) That leaves importers with a practical deadline rather than a constitutional one. As of April 22, the Court’s ruling is in place, the refund portal is live, and businesses that paid those duties are now being told to assemble entry numbers, ACE access, and bank details if they want their money back. (cbp.gov 1) (cbp.gov 2)