economy
March 5, 2026
US judge orders refunds for more than $130bn in illegal Trump tariffs
Trade court directs customs to repay importers with interest after supreme court ruled tariffs unlawful
TL;DR
- A US trade court judge ordered the government to begin paying refunds for illegally collected tariffs.
- The refunds are for importers who paid tariffs later ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court.
- Judge Richard Eaton directed Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to finalize entry costs without tariffs and issue refunds with interest.
- CBP has indicated the task is unprecedented in scale, potentially requiring manual review of over 70 million entries.
- The US government collected over $130 billion in illegal tariff payments under former President Trump's trade policy.
- Over 300,000 importers paid these tariffs, with many hoping for a simple refund process.
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