Trump appeals tariff refund order

The Trump administration said on May 29 that it would appeal a U.S. Court of International Trade order requiring refunds of unlawful tariffs to all importers, opening a new fight over money that U.S. Customs and Border Protection had already begun returning. The dispute centers on tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down in a 6-3 ruling on February 20. Judge Richard Eaton later ordered CBP to recalculate and refund the duties for all affected importers, not only the companies that sued. The Justice Department now says Eaton exceeded his authority and plans to seek a stay of that universal injunction. ### Which tariffs are at issue in this appeal? The February 20 Supreme Court ruling in *Learning Resources v. Trump* held that IEEPA did not authorize President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs, according to CBIZ’s timeline of the case. The justices did not resolve how refunds should work, sending the matter back to the Court of International Trade. (cpapracticeadvisor.com) Judge Eaton’s March 4 order required CBP to liquidate unliquidated entries without the IEEPA tariffs and reliquidate entries that were not yet final. CBIZ said more than 330,000 importers made over 53 million entries involving those tariffs. ### What exactly is the administration appealing? The Justice Department told the trade court on May 29 that it intended to appeal the “universal injunction” requiring refunds for all importers of record, not just the named plaintiffs. (cbiz.com) In the same filing, government lawyers said they would seek a stay of the injunction except as to the particular importer plaintiffs in each case. Laura Curtis and Zoe Tillman reported, in Bloomberg copy carried by CPA Practice Advisor, that the administration is challenging the judge’s authority to order across-the-board refunds of all tariffs the Supreme Court ruled illegal. CNBC separately reported that Justice Department lawyers argued Eaton had gone too far in determining that “all importers of record” were entitled to refunds. (cpapracticeadvisor.com) ### How much money has already moved? CBP launched an online refund portal on April 20, according to Bloomberg’s account and CBIZ’s earlier timeline. The agency had signaled by then that it intended to repay at least some of the duties struck down by the Supreme Court. As of May 22, CBP had accepted refund applications totaling $85 billion and had directed the Treasury Department to issue $20.6 billion in refunds, CNBC reported, citing a legal filing. (cpapracticeadvisor.com) Cato, citing a May 26 progress report to the court, said $20.6 billion had been approved for disbursement and described the broader disputed IEEPA tariff haul as $166 billion. ### Why does the refund process matter to importers who did not sue? More than 2,500 importers have already filed suits seeking refunds, Cato said, but Eaton’s order went beyond those plaintiffs. If the appeal succeeds, Cato said, importers that did not sue could face the choice of filing their own cases in the Court of International Trade or giving up claims, especially if they are smaller businesses. (cnbc.com) CBP’s CAPE refund tool can process claims only for entries liquidated for no more than 80 days or still unliquidated, according to Cato. Cato said CBP had indicated that this covered about 63% of IEEPA-tariffed entries, leaving the remaining share still unresolved. ### Is this the same case as the Section 122 tariff fight? (cato.org) A separate May 7 Court of International Trade ruling involved Trump’s 10% global tariff imposed under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, not the IEEPA tariffs at the center of the refund appeal. Cooley said the trade court found those Section 122 tariffs “invalid” and “unauthorized by law,” but limited relief to plaintiff importers and declined to issue a universal injunction. (cato.org) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has temporarily stayed that Section 122 judgment while it considers the government’s appeal, Cooley said. That case runs on a separate track from the IEEPA refund dispute now before Eaton. ### What happens next in court? Judge Eaton set a June 9 hearing after ordering CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott to appear and answer questions about how long it would take to repay all eligible importers, CNBC reported. (cooley.com) The Justice Department objected to Scott’s appearance and said his deputies should testify instead, arguing that a high-ranking presidential appointee could not be compelled to appear. The next formal step is the administration’s appeal of Eaton’s universal injunction and its request for a stay while that appeal proceeds. CBP told the court it would continue to process refunds “as quickly as it can” in a phased approach for businesses that filed legal complaints asserting refund rights. (cpapracticeadvisor.com) (cnbc.com)