Tariffs, judge orders US customs to reimburse companies

A US trade court judge has ordered the government to begin paying potentially multi-billion dollar refunds to importers who paid tariffs that the Supreme Court declared illegal last month. Judge Richard Eaton of the US Court of International Trade in Manhattan ordered the government to finalise the cost of importing millions of shipments into the US without charging tariffs, according to a court document. It ordered that refunds be made with interest.

When goods are imported into the United States, the importer pays an estimated amount upon entry, which is then finalised approximately 314 days later, a process known as clearance. Eaton ordered Customs and Border Protection to finalise the cost of entry of shipments without charging tariffs, resulting in a refund.

"Customs knows how to do this," he said Wednesday during a court hearing, according to a recording posted on the court's website. According to the magistrate, the agency should be able to program its system to issue refunds, which are routinely issued when an importer pays more than it should on an estimated tariffs. "They do this every day. They clear the revenue and issue refunds," the magistrate states.