Judge kicks off process to issue refunds for Trump tariffs

A federal court is kicking off the process that could force President Donald Trump's administration to start refunding tariff payments.

According to Bloomberg News, "In an order on Wednesday, Judge Richard Eaton, who sits on the federal trade court in New York, ordered Customs and Border Protection to stop calculating President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs on importers’ customs paperwork. He also questioned why the government was continuing to do so after the Supreme Court ruled the tariffs illegal. Eaton also ordered officials to recalculate certain duties that had passed that step of the customs process, removing Trump’s contested tariffs."

This order would make issuing refunds for tariffs easier to accomplish.

The Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that Trump does not have authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to issue tariffs, blowing up the entire foundation for Trump having imposed them without Congress.

Trump, who spent months trying to influence the court against such a decision, has vowed to reinstate the tariffs under a different statute, but experts say this would not be easy to accomplish.

In response to the trade court ruling, the group We Pay the Tariffs celebrated.

"This is a victory for small businesses who have paid billions in unlawful tariffs and deserve their money back. The Court acted swiftly and correctly. Now the ball is in the government's court and small businesses are concerned they will drag this out further," said the group in a statement issued on Wednesday afternoon. "American small businesses have waited long enough. A full, fast, and automatic refund process is what these businesses are owed and anything less is unacceptable."