Federal officials have said that they are working to implement a system for refunding the money collected from the tariffs struck down by the US Supreme Court in February.
The Court blocked the tariffs after finding that the federal law upon which President Donald Trump (R) relied does not permit the president to impose tariffs.
Known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, the 1977 law at the heart of this case gives the president broad authority to regulate economic transactions under a declared emergency.
Despite having been invoked by prior presidents, IEEPA has never before been used by the chief executive to impose tariffs. Historically, presidents have used their authority under IEEPA to impose sanctions on enemies or freeze assets.
Authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the Court’s opinion explained that the Trump Administration’s view of this law “would represent a transformative expansion of the President’s authority over tariff policy.”
“The Framers did not vest any part of the taxing power in the Executive Branch,” the Chief Justice wrote.
The Court did not address whether or not companies may get refunded for the tariffs they have already paid.
[RELATED: Supreme Court Blocks President Trump’s Tariffs]
In the wake of this decision, and the ambiguity regarding the potential return of the money paid by companies while the tariffs were in effect, questions have lingered regarding the likely path forward for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
On Wednesday, Judge Richard Eaton of the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) ruled that “all importers of record” were “entitled to benefit” now that the tariffs have been eliminated.
“The law is clear,” said Judge Eaton. “The duties were unlawful from the moment they were imposed. And that means that every single cent must be returned to the importer.”
Two days later, Customs officials told the CIT that they were working to establish a refund process that would not necessitate individual importers filing lawsuits against the government.
The agency has indicated that it expects to use the same online system for refunds that is already used for customs filings, the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) portal.
The government has estimated in court filings that it has collected around $166 billion from over 330,000 businesses as a result of the now-void tariffs.
