U.S. customs officials say they’re building a system to issue tariff refunds, and they hope it will go online within 45 days.
On March 6, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials told the U.S. Court of International Trade that its current computer systems are not equipped to immediately handle a surge of refund claims, but that the agency is working on a streamlined process that would spare importers from having to file individual lawsuits.
“CBP is making all possible efforts to have this new ACE functionality ready for use in 45 days,” the agency told the court. “This new process will require minimal submission from importers.”
CBP said the redesigned process would also reduce errors by validating refund calculations in the system and allowing a review window for the agency and importers to resolve discrepancies. The review would also allow CBP to confirm there are no outstanding enforcement issues and no other duties or revenue owed before any refund is issued.
“The process will be simpler and more efficient than the existing functionalities, and CBP will provide guidance on how to file refund declarations in the new system,” the agency wrote.
The announcement is likely to reassure smaller businesses that have worried they would need to pursue refunds through costly, case-by-case litigation. The U.S. Supreme Court invalidated President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” global tariffs aimed at reducing trade deficits but did not specify what the government should do with the tens of billions of dollars already collected, raising concern that the refund process might get severely delayed in a flood of individual lawsuits.
In its filing, CBP said it has collected about $166 billion tied to 53 million entries from more than 330,000 businesses under the tariffs that the Supreme Court now found lacked a valid legal basis. Trump invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose the duties, but the high court’s 6–3 majority held that the statute does not authorize such action.
CBP also noted that refund calculations are complicated by the way duties are finalized. Customs officials generally do not finalize the amount due on an entry—a process called liquidation—until months later, often close to a year after importation. Of the 53 million entries at issue, more than 20 million remain unliquidated, CBP said.
The filing responded to a March 4 order from Judge Richard Eaton of the Court of International Trade. Eaton wrote that “all importers of record” are “entitled to benefit” from the Supreme Court ruling and directed CBP to provide a status update.
While the CBP works on a refund pathway, Trump has quickly imposed 10 percent global import duties under Section 122, a statute that authorizes temporary tariffs of up to 15 percent to address “fundamental international payments problems.” The duties can remain in place for up to 150 days and would require congressional approval to extend beyond that period.
The Trump administration says the use of Section 122 is justified.
“The President is using his authority granted by Congress to address fundamental international payments problems and to deal with our country’s large and serious balance-of-payments deficits,” a White House spokesperson said in a statement to The Epoch Times on March 6. “The Administration will vigorously defend the President’s action in court.”