The US International Trade Court orders the refund of tariffs

New York, March 4 (Xinhua) -- A judge of the US International Trade Court ruled on a lawsuit on March 4, demanding that the US Customs and Border Protection not impose tariffs under the US International Emergency Economic Powers Act during tariff clearance. This means that the tariffs previously levied under this law need to be refunded.

The ruling requires that for all customs declarations that have been declared by US importers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act but have not completed tariff clearance, US Customs and Border Protection shall not settle them under relevant provisions of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act; For customs declarations that have already been cleared but have not yet taken effect, they need to be re cleared and cannot be based on relevant provisions of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

According to regulations, US importers will prepay the customs duties within a few days after the goods enter the country. The US Customs and Border Protection usually determines the amount of customs duties to be paid and conducts customs clearance after 314 days, refunding any excess or making up for any shortfall. After the liquidation occurs, the importer has 180 days to submit a protest. After the window period, liquidation will ultimately take effect legally.

On February 20th, the US Supreme Court announced a ruling that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act did not authorize the President to impose large-scale tariffs. Richard Eaton, a senior judge of the US International Trade Court, said that all US importers who pay tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act are entitled to the benefits of the recent tariff ruling by the US Supreme Court.

After returning to the White House in early 2025, US President Trump repeatedly invoked the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose large-scale tariffs. According to the budget model of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, the final ruling on tariffs by the Supreme Court involves a tax refund amount of $175 billion. US importers and the government may engage in a prolonged struggle over tax refunds.